Heart of Artima
by Anteaus
Summary: Following the story of the 1st Artiman Armoured Regiment of the Imperial Guard when they return home after twelve years service to find there homeland invaded by the Ork menace.
1. Prologue

Heart of Artima

**Prologue**

Uzslag grubfang Grimork rose, striding across the iron deck of his prized ship, The Fist. He strode over to the scavenged railing and looked over the hold, where the Boyz were eating, polishing weapons, fighting, and generally preparing for the task ahead. He yanked the steel scissor platform from the ceiling of his command deck and punched the worn microphone into life with a meaty green claw, waiting for attention from the Boyz below. But even the scream of the cobbled together speaker system couldn't defeat the constant rumble from the mob in the hold. Grimork turned and growled at the closest of his grot slaves and it hurried forward with his beloved custom shoota. He snatched it from the tiny grot, knocking it over as it retreated, bowing insanely as it moved away. Uzslag shouldered the blood red shoota and fixed the cross-hairs on a point in the general direction of were the shot was intended to go, and squeezed the hand made trigger tightly. The large caliber shot atomized a grot rushing over the bunks with a piston and the mob looked round to face the warboss in his command room above the hold.

"Boyz!" his harsh voice rang out through the speakers, although he didn't need them, they made him feel altogether more civilized. "Da time az cum, for uz to rise and crush da humies" a loud roar consumed the ship as the orks relished the thought of victory. Grimork raised his augmented arms high in the air as a sign for quiet, while the Boyz quietened down. "Gork and Mork spoke to me, in a dream, day told me, I shud go, and find the grey humie planet, and crush it. And day told me thiz cuz i iz the biggest and the shootiest of all the orks." Grimork roared over the deafening thunder of the Boyz bellowing, chanting and beating anything the could get there claws on, as they did this, the ship shook as it touched down on the hard gray earth of Artima IV. The mighty iron doors all around the hold opened up and the hold emptied out, the one million fighting orks and vehicles rushed out chanting and screaming, Grimork strode back to the command deck of the Fist were the Techboyz and Weirdboyz worked at panels and oddly concocted machines. Grimork gazed out over his army, over three and a half million orks rushed out over the gray landscape as other assault carriers landed on the surface of the gray planet disgorging there load. Grimork smiled, his iron teeth glinting in the dull light of Artima IV.

The local PDF held the orks at bay for over a week, orks being orks, they did not vouch for the stealth approach. The PDF had time to prepare and dig in. But by sheer weight of numbers the orks pushed through, as the days passed the populace of Artima capital and the surrounding settlements were pushed out into the highlands. Now, after a month of bitter resistance a handful of survivors make a last ditch attempt to survive, sending distress calls out to anyone listening. Even in this dire situation the survivors still keep their faith true to the one god emperor and wait for rescue and liberation.


	2. Chapter 1

**ONE  
Mid-transit  
Aboard the Graia  
**

**Three days later…**

Robart sat silently on a ammunition canister, watching the fitter crews work on his steed. He was watching, but his mind was elsewhere, they were finally returning home, after so long. Twelve years loyal service to the imperium of man, twelve long years of servitude to the god emperor, and twelve years he has been away from his family. How he desperately missed them, his beloved wife Zoie, and his beautiful son Toma. He would finally get to see them once more, only a few more hours till docking.  
Robart Le Cardinale, general of the First Artiman armoured, a tall powerful man. On the wrong side of thirty his thick black hair cropped as per regimental orders, his face clean shaven and serious. Dark, determined eyes set into his face with a finely set nose and mouth. Robart wore the usual charcoal grey uniform with cloth peaked cap as the rest of the regiment, but had the extra steel bars on his shoulders and tunic front to show his rank, with a string of medals strung across his heart. As he was now, walking around the cargo hold of the Graia, he simply wore his breeches and a plain tank top, his cloth cap sitting squarely on his head, the small silver regiment pin glinting in the artificial sunlight. He left the workshops and the fitters behind and sauntered into the troop hold were the First was based. Robart walked through the rows of bunks on his way to the officers' rooms, stopping to chat to the crew. He prided himself on knowing everything happening in the regiment, from betting pools to bad feet, he knew the working of his regiment inside out.

**Robart reached the officers' quarters after a long discussion with a passing fitter over the state of some of the tanks' interiors and how the crews need a hygiene lesson. He knocked on his second in command's steel door, even though it was wide open. Atos stood up and swung a salute to the general as he seen him approach. "At ease Atos." His smooth low gothic filled the chamber and Atos sat back down, gesturing to the bunk which Robart sat down on too. " How're you holding up?" Robart spoke casually to his second in command, rubbing his eyes as he spoke.**

**"I am well sir, the long transit is beginning to try my nerves. The prospect of home is too much to sit and wait for." the smaller man spoke eagerly, as the general has always known him to be. A very capable and eager soldier, he was the obvious choice for a right hand man.  
**

**Atos Dremmet was a smaller man than Robart. Short brown hair and thin round glasses perched on a slender face. He did not look the sort of man to be a soldier at all, let alone a colonel. Atos was only twenty-two years old, one of the younger men under Robarts command but one of the most trustworthy and skilled.  
**

**"Got anything planned for when we return?" Robarts words made the younger man sigh as a memory rolled into his minds eye.  
**

**"Not really sir. A few of us were planning to prop up the bars in the commercia, stay out for a few days, make sure the alcohol is still up to standard." A low snigger followed the sentence from both men, and the conversation paused for a few moments as both thought, when finally the general spoke gently to his number two.  
**

**"How many is a few Atos?" Robart queried with a sideways look.  
**

**"Um...not many, Blane's mob, the fitters do like a drink, and maybe C section." Both men laughed heartily, and spoke about nothing in particular until docking later that day.**

**Kenith King stood on his top bunk doing a strange dance that few understood, but all enjoyed as someone in the crowd played a set of ancient bagpipes, the crowd swayed and staggered as one single singing beast. Bottles of whesk, brewed by Kenith himself were passed around the mob. As the celebrations raged on, more dancers joined in on the bunks and on the deck. More musicians joined in with whatever they could find and the chorus of "Return Me to the Hills" reverberated around the Graia as Kenith threw buckets of whesk over the crowd and the mass sang on.**

**In the corner of the hold, the crew of the Xenos sat in a group, away from the celebrations. On his bunk, Eric Van Voytz stared at the crowd with utter disdain, and turned back to his cronies to plot.**

**The general strode out into the open crew hold with Atos and a few other assorted officers, proceeding to mingle in with the singing, dancing, mess of crewmen. Robart noticed Kenith up on a bunk in the centre with Ersia, doing a rather unusual dance. Robart had always suspected something between the pair of them, and as they both crewed his own steed, he was quite sure. The pair worked well together, what with Keniths gift for driving, and Ersia's skill with the AT gun, they were a true team if ever there was one. Kenith, Kenny to almost everyone, was only eighteen standard years old. He signed up and was instantly seen to have a gift. Robart had transferred him from the supply runs and into his tank. Kenith was well built, long blonde hair kept under his cap, never without a flask of his infamous whesk, and in all the years he had known Kenith, Robart had never seen the boy frown.**

**Ersia had been with the regiment for as long as Kenith, only slightly younger by a few months her skill in training had astounded everyone present. Robart had got her transferred directly to his tank as well. She was much like Kenith in personality and appearance, long pale blonde hair, slim build. But very much like kenith. Wherever there was a scam or a gag, Kenith and Ersia were usually at the helm. Robart walked on through the throng of people, greeting everyone he met as he went along. Gimble with his bad feet, Johnson with the dodgy arm, Stevenson with Veyer and Ssanard tap-dancing half-naked through the crowd. The celebrations were all what was needed, almost home. So long had they been away, but they were going home again. Robart took a bottle of Keniths whesk from a fitter and drank deeply from it. Moving on through the growing party.**

**Robart was chatting to some of the fitter crews when a navy runner came. He looked panicked and worried as he handed the sealed message to the general. Robart took himself off to one side while he read the message, his joyful expression fading rapidly. He shredded the blue paper and threw the brass message shell across the hold in a rage. Deep inside, he was distraught, worry filled his heart, and fear filled his mind. As he stormed to the briefing room, he gathered a group of officers in his wake, ordering them with him. They marched in quick time through the echoing hallways of the Graia and their boots clanged against the steel grating that made up the floor. Robart did not break step as he rammed the massive arched doors of the briefing room open, and the few naval officers present all became silent. Robart's expression alone enough to silence them. The general and his group of officers marched over to the command desk in the centre of the dimly lit chamber, as the small man behind it squirmed with discomfort, the idea of being murdered not seeming too pleasant. Before the group of Artiman's had a time to beat the clerk for an explanation the captain walked into the chamber with his retuine behind the General and his men.**

**"General Le cardinale," said the captain of the Graia, adorned with the finest uniform, made from the most expensive materials, his breast heavy with medals and seals, and whom spoke the most clipped and perfect high gothic Robart had ever heard.**

**"It is my deepest regret to inform you, that Artima IV has fallen."  
**

**A deafening silence hung around the briefing room for a long time afterwards.  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**TWO  
****Orbit over Artima IV.  
Aboard the Graia.**

Five hours till landing...

** The mood in the regiment was somber, quiet, uncertain. No one quite knew what to say, no one spoke, no one knew if this was just a huge sick and well orchestrated practical joke. How could their home have fallen? All that was certain was their orders, they had come throughjust a few minutes ago. they were to push out the xenos scum and free Artima IV once again. The thought of the liberation lightened the spirits a little and the morale was better than it was. The last of the crews were moving to their steeds, kits packed and stowed. Only the fitter crews were left loading tools and spares onto chimeras. **

**Robart sat on the edge of his tanks turret, gazing over its hull. The Heart of Artima, his steed, an Artima pattern command tank. Its long vanquisher gun pointing out in front, the freshly painted gray and black camoflague hull, the trade mark of the Artiman first, standing out in the rust orange hold. Robart leaned over and gazed at the engraved steel kill plate on the side of the turret, he didn't care to count them right now. He gazed over the back of the hull, at the long vox caster aerials and scanner masts. **

**On the engine filters, sat the Heart's com's man, Adior Garson, well proportioned, but small. The thin brown hair on his head was cropped and pushed out of his eyes. The almost grey complection of a veteran coms man, bleached by years before the green displays of scanners. His pockets always buldged with spare wires and miniture tools. He had his own repetoir of catchphrases and words that he used often. He was a very skilled man also, the very reason he was in the First. They were some of the most skilled armored regiments in the guard. Robart decided to leave Adior to his vox panel he seemed to be tinkering with and had a glance down into the cabin of the Heart. Kenith and Ersia were down below fine tuning there stations and generally being quite cheerful given the circumstances. He left them to it when they started to kiss each other playfully, shaking his head, laughing slightly at the pair**

**who always seem to find the most bizarre places to show affection. He gazed around for the rest of the crew, standing up on the turret for a better view of the hold. In all the Heart had a six man crew, Himself, Adior at the back, Kenny and Ersia in the front, his layer and loader, Mikal De Hellier, and finally the sponson gunner below, Iros Greyer. **

**As Robart thought of the man he came striding over with Hellier, the bear of a man dwarfing the slim built Hellier. Greyer was built like a tank in himself, with a laugh to match, his shaven head and massive body gave him the appearence of a space marine. Iros ****was**** by far the largest man in the regiment and as with all of the Hearts crew, a true master of his trade. Hellier on the other hand was a slim man who kept himself to himself. Rumors had circulated that before the founding he had been a hitman and thus he was an unbelievable shot with the deadly vanquisher gun. His short black hair, combed back beneath the perfectly washed cap, his pale skin giving him the appearence of a vampire, wearing the grey fatigues of the Artiman first, but unlike anyone else, it was well pressed, clean. The pair walked over to Robart as he came down from the hull of the tank, saluting curtly.**

"At ease boys" Robart's voice seemed tense and slightly panicked, but it was only slight.

"Sir." the pair replied in unison, lowering there hands, leaning on the trackguards of the Heart.

"How's the mood? As bad as mine?" He gave a half smile, his voice not as it usually was.

"Better than expected sir, morale is rather good. I believe it is because we are going to be liberating Artima soon sir" Hellier spoke with his usual, formal, gentlemanly tone. That never failed to astound the general. After twelve years with the regiment, Hellier had never lost his charm and manner.

"Even Zorena wants down there, and you know what she's like with morale sir." Iros spoke now, his deep rough voice due to sixty iho-sticks a day, rumbled around the conversation. _**  
**_**  
"That's good. I expected everyone would fight with a passion down there. It is our homeland after all. " He sounded a little more upbeat. The prospect of liberation seemed very pleasant. **

**  
"Shall we go find ourselves some refreshments?" Robart spoke, rubbing his hands together, the cold air in the hold numbing his body, or was that the worry.**

Zorena sat on the lip of her tank, polishing her prized long-las. Stroking the barrel tenderly with a roll of vizzy cloth. The wooden stock and furniture lay on the hatch beside her, the gun bracket removed and oiled, sitting on a rag.

**Zorena Adera had been with the regiment almost from the start, she had became commander of the Black Widow almost immediately and had a reputation for being able to blow the wings off a gnat half a mile away while driving at top speed through an artillery barrage. If that was true, it was yet to be seen, but everyone was pretty sure it was. A small woman, the short black hair tied under the cap out of her eyes. Her long-las was her prized possession and had become her trademark as it replaced the pintle mount on her steed. Zorena sat, gazing out into the hold, the rows of tanks waiting to depart, the groups of crew milling around, agitated, worried, frightened of what remained of Artima IV. Although she did not show it, she was afraid too. **

**She was afraid of what had become of her village, where her father had taken her hunting as a child, where all her memories lay, where her family lived. The greenskin scum would pay. Her rage alone would force them back to whatever forsaken hole they crawled from. Zorena stemmed her rage and pain, locking her weapon back together and fitting it to its hinge on the rim of the hatch. She jumped down from the tank, and wandering through the hold to find a drink.**

**  
A cloud of steam billowed from every hatch of the Heart of Artima. That could only mean one thing. Kenny was brewing a new batch of whesk. One of the fitters had dropped of his "supplies" earlier that day and Kenny thought a new batch may boost the atmosphere in the hold. So both him and Ersia sat in the hull of the Heart and brewed up a new batch. A fine concoction of engine oil, ration packs, a drop or two of water and some anti-freeze. The final product, the perfect mixture to run a valhalla motor company on or as Kenny always said "the best tool to blow the backside off a beserker". Kenny stirred the contents of many ration tins dotted around his dashboard as Ersia added more anti-freeze to each one.**

"Just a little bit more oil in that one at the back Ersia." Kenny spoke softly to his beloved, indicating the can he meant

Ersia nodded, giving him a peck on the cheek and adding some oil into the battered tin can that Kenny meant. Kenny wasn't the type to be afraid or down, but the news had hit him as hard as everyone else. He covered it well, but Ersia knew how he felt, she could see right through him. They kept each other going, and as a result were always quite cheerful. Ersia spoke to him as he stirred the cans.

"What do you think it'll be like when we get back home?" Her voice rang out around the hull like a sweet morning bird.

"I think it'll be bad, really bad." He didn't sound sure of what he was saying, the worry rising in his tone.

"Whatever happens we will still have each other." She looked up at him with the cute look that he adored in her. She held his hand to reassure him.

**Kenny smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek.**

**The sheet of flakboard splintered in Kerns hands, the slug round going straight through and into a ration-pack sitting on the track guard of the Xenos.**

"How did I do there, Kern?" Eric spoke in his usual stuck up, superior manner as Kern plucked splinters of flakboard from his face. The lank twenty year old smoothed his dirty blonde hair under the over startched cap, sneering at the target, his off white teeth making him look like a servant of the archenemy. The shaving cuts still raw even though he had no facial hair. The wide johdpurs making him look like he had stuffed a rifle down each trouser leg.

"Very well sir, another freeze-dried meal blown into the next millennia. My freeze-dried meal might I add...sir" Kern spoke with a depressed, fed up tone. The same tone he had used for the past eleven years and three hundred and sixty four days. He knew, he'd counted them all. 

**  
"Oh shut up Kern! Who is in command here? You insignificant oaf!" Eric stuck his nose up into the air like a spoiled child and turned from his adjutant, striding off in his dress uniform. Freshly starched.**

"You are sir." Kern spoke quietly, not talking to anyone in particular, poking the remains of his lunch. Kern pulled his pack out from the hull box, and brought out another ration pack, discarding the first with the gaping hole through the middle. He sat the block in his ration tin and pored in some boiled water that had been over the idling engine and mixed it around with the end of a metal spoon. Kern Veyer sat on a crate slurping up the something entitled "Imperial Ration Pack: Soup, Chicken" but looked more like the regimental lavatories after that "vespid surprise" one of the fitters cooked up. 

**Kern often wondered why he had joined up. He couldn't for the life of him remember, it had been so long. He thought about his comfortable job as a sue chef in Artima Major, comparing some of the delicacies he had prepared with the "Imperial Ration Pack: Soup, Chicken". Kern started to think of his good friends back home, his family, but pushed the memories to the back of his mind when he remembered what he had been told. **

**He pushed his thinning hair back under his cap, gazing down at his short dangling legs. He wasn't the most powerful man in the world, but he got the job done he supposed. Kern sighed loudly; it was back to being the right hand man for the most stuck up and cowardly major in the Imperium.**

**Robart checked his chronometer, almost time. He walked to the Heart of Artima, as it sat idling at the head of the formation. He climbed up onto the turret of his steed, sitting comfortably in the hatch, setting the vox mic on his head and adjusting settings around him, picking up the intercom mic and issuing the order.**

"All crews to their tanks, landing in three minutes, the emperor protects." He stood in his command hatch watching crews scramble to the waiting tanks, the roar of the engines starting up almost deafening.

"Crew, sound off." He spoke casually to his team down below.

"sponson gunner, aye." Iros barking his replay from his gun rig.

"Loader present and correct sir." The pleasant voice of De Hellier.

"Coms ready chief." Adoir checked in quietly

**  
Robart waited for his driver and AT gunner to call in, nothing came over the intercom. He sat down in his command chair to see why there was no reply. It was plain to see why. Kenny and Ersia were locked at the lips again, showing their eternal love for one another. Unfortunately, it wasn't the time.**

"Garson, break them up." Robart spoke to his comms man quietly so they would not hear him, not that they would ,even if the emperor himself marched up to them and screamed it to there faces.

"Will do sir." Adoir gave a quick salute and gave Kenny and Ersia a sharp burst of white noise through they're headsets. The pair sprung apart, panicked, wondering were everyone came from, and why Iros was laughing like an artillery barrage. Kenny and Ersia looked up at the general, bemused.

"After we win, if you please." He spoke like a father to his children. Robart stood in the hatch again, looking out to the front of the hold. The room shook as the lander touched down and the massive door began to open up, laying itself onto the ground. As Robart gazed out into the gray earth of Artima IV his memories flooded back, but then the memories of why they were all here came back into his mind, and he bellowed over the vox.

"Onward, kill everything that isn't human, for Artima!" His order was met with an onslaught of agreements, acknowledgements and sacred oaths. The five hundred strong armored regiment rumbled out into the gray landscape.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Surface of Artima IV**

**200 kilometers west of Artima Major**

**One day after landing…**

**The general stood behind his chart table in the command dugout, looking over maps of the area. Atos to his left was marking out routes on a dataslate with a weathered but regal looking stylus. The chief fitter walked in, pushing back the gas curtains from the doorway, and saluting casually to the general and the colonel.**

"The tanks you requested are hull down where you marked on the map, the bulk of them are down on the east ridge. And ammo lines are ready, I got some extra fitters runnin' out with carts when we get the orders in Sir." The barrel chested man spoke with a thick inner city accent, one that all of the tank crews had become accustomed to. Everyone knew the chief fitter.

"Thank you. Be ready for midday today. We believe all hell is coming to get us."He returned to his maps as the man exited the dugout, the curtains flapping gently as he walked back to the fitter teams

**Atos spoke now, slightly worried about the situation. "Are you sure we can hold this place? What the scouts reported was pretty massive." **

**"We can hold for long enough, and all the scouts have seen is infantry." Robart pointed out a section of map covered with drawn lines and markers. "This land is totally open for a kilometer or so, we have the cover of the village and the higher land to our advantage. I'm quite confident"**

"Quite?" Atos seemed unsure

**"Yes, they estimated around three quarters of a million troops. It wont be easy"**

**"I hope we can hold them off."**

"We have some of the greatest tank crews in the imperial guard, Atos, we have a fighting chance"

**"Yes... I'll go check on the spotters, see if there's any movement."**

**"Good, make sure the fitters are well back from the front too," he mentioned this as an after thought, calling it to his colonel as he departed the room, leaving Robart to his charts and his worries.**

**Zorena Adara stood in the hatch of the Black Widow, playing her scope back and forth along the opposite ridge, checking for targets. She had noticed one such target move three times since she found it, even at maximum magnification, but that was with a standard scope, the one Zorena used had been her fathers hunting scope, much more powerful and so she seen the figure in perfect clarity. She zoomed right in on the target and found it to be a single green beast, with a small gun, far to small to be an ork. Maybe something that arrived with the orks, but she had shot twelve of them already today, so she blew its head off, thinking no more of it for a while. As Zorena played the scope along the ridge again, she seen more, the ridge filled up with figures, undoubtedly orks this time. She could make them out, thumping the ground with their guns and weapons. Zorena swung round sharply screaming down to area command just down the road in a bar.**

"Contact!"

The first wave was upon them. 

**Kenny sprinted back to the Heart from his whesk deliveries, diving through the hatch and meeting Ersia giving her a quick peck on the cheek and firing up the Hearts turbines, pulling the hatch down. Laughing as he shouted over the engine, plugging his vox set into the dashboard**

"Ok lads and ladies, hold onto your lunch, here comes the blood!" Speaking normally over the intercom now as he gunned the Hearts turbines, driving out to the rally point.

**Robart stood in the hatch, looking down the street into the open expanse beyond the buildings, the green tide was massing. And it was a tide with an evil mind, and one that intended to wash them away. He set the intercom mic on his head, talking to his coms man in the cabin below.**

"Send the message to all of B section, we're moving out on my mark."

"Will do sir." He spoke quietly as he always did, flicking some switches on his panels and speaking clearly to the rest of B section.

"All units, B section form up on section command, move on my mark, the emperor protects." He turned the switches back, now on the intercom again, checking the auspex screen to his right, the green mass of blips seeming like one bar of green washing over the display.

"Scanners showing multiple hostile targets Sir, fast moving, can't see any signs of heavy units, I'd say its mostly all infantry sir."

**"Thank you Adior, you are a true genius with that caster." The general spoke kindly to his coms man, as it was what he truly thought of the man, in the years he had been with him, Adoir had never failed to get the call through. **

**"OK Kenny, wait for my command."**

"Sir," the reply came quickly this time, even though slightly muffled.  


****

The battle cannon of the Black Widow, lit up, throwing the tank back into a recoil, the blast deafening. The shell thudded into the distant advance of the ork lines, throwing up soil and bodies alike. Between the mighty blast of the main gun, the crack of a las-weapon could be heard, the subtle red trail marking the way for a time. Zorena loaded another clip into the slot of her long-las, settling in on the rim of the hatch.

"Main weapon fire," she spoke through the intercom to her layer, he replied with drilled precision

"Weapon firing, brace!" The crew braced as he spoke the words, and the massive battle cannon fired again, landing another well placed shot into the ork lines. Zorena swept over the ork lines with her scope, the same as she had been doing since the first sign of orks. She looked for the beasts who seemed to be in command, they weren't to hard to spot, bigger than the others, large hair, elaborate weapons and armor, she relieved them of there heads. It was all psychology, kill the head and the bodie dies. She picked out a large ork, hefting a blade in the air, he turned to his fellow warriors, and as he turned back to face the enemy. Another perfectly aimed shot mauled the beast's throat, the blood spatter covering the orks in the area. She looked for a while at the terror on the grim faces of the xenos scum. It was priceless. She loved phycology.

"Main weapon fire!"  


**The tank jerked as the main weapon thundered, throwing another shell into the distance. Kern sat by his instruments, jotting notes onto his pad strapped to his thigh. Gazing over the auspex and vox guages, checking for any ork radio messages and also where the mass of enemy bodies was.**

"Anything kern?!" Eric boomed through the intercom, even though it was whisper sensitive, it made him wince as the speaker in his ear crackled, trying to cope with the overload.

"No sir, nothing yet." He spoke casually into the mic, informing his commanding officer of the situation, only because he would Ave him executed otherwise.

"Well find me something you wretch. Now!"

**Kern truly detested the man, more an enemy to him than the orks were. Eric had always talked down to him, scolding him for anything, he would be glad to be rid of the man when he died. But then again, knowing his luck, Eric van Voytz would out like him. He only new that the major had been born into his positron, he was a skill-less, vengeful, coward. **

**And the good major had always had it in for General Le Cardinale, he wanted the posting. The general didn't need to go into battle, he chose to, to lead from the front. But Eric wanted to slink away behind a desk somewhere and sip wine while gazing out his bay window into the lush green garden, and knowing the Majors corrupt mind, he would dream of the garden being filled with women. But that was a far cry, no woman would touch him with an entrenching tool, let alone be close to him. **

**Well, Kern lived with it, it was his duty to serve the emperor of mankind, even if that did include being ordered about by a fool such as Van Voytz. He returned to his guages and scanner displays and watched. He could hear the orks coming closer and closer.**

**Atos Dremmit looked out through his scope out into the ork horde, not that he needed it, they were close now. Almost in sponson range. They had started to fire with small arms now, the bullets bouncing over the thick armor of the Iron Maiden. They were coming fast; all he could see now was the green tide, the tide that wasn't showing any signs of recession. The first ork came within range of the AT gun in the hull.**

**"AT open fire!" he shouted over the now constant chanting roar of the orks and the AT gun started to pound, armor perching shells spitting into the ork lines. They were definitely here now.**

Robart scanned the horizon with his monoculars, it was a very green horizon. He thought to himself, Even if they were manning tanks, how could just over three thousand men defeat millions of Xenos beasts? Was it humanly possible? Then again, in his experience, be it on the battlefield, or back at home, all those years ago, nothing was more powerful than the human will to survive. Against all odds he had seen men defeat hordes of lethal and terrifying enemies, overcome fears and pull themselves up from the lowest points in there lives. With this settling thought in his mind, he flicked his mic on and spoke to his driver, having to raise his voice to be heard over the fire of the four hundred hull down tanks along the front line.

"Kenny, take us in. Adoir; set out the message to form up and advance. Everyone, prepare to face the ork scum."

"Yes Sir," Adoir replied, strangely his quiet voice still audible over the roar of battle.

"Aye sir, moving," Kenny replied from the driver seat, as the turbines cycled up to full power, the tank eased off the mark gently. Kenith rolling off down the street expertly. Robart could hear Adoir below, issuing the orders to the rest of B section, and as he looked out behind the Heart the rest of the column was forming up on them.

"Adoir, link me to the vox, if you will."

"Yes Sir."

After a short pause Adoir came back over the intercom. "Linked to all units now Sir."

"Thank you, Adoir."

**The General spoke to the regiment, his voice coming into every troopers headset over the defense line.  
**

**"Men and Women of the first. We are faced with the most grievous of tasks. We must defend our foothold here. We must keep the ork menace at bay. And we must show the green-skinned scum the might of the Artiman First Armored. Give them hell, for every inch they take, make them pay dearly!" **

**The passionate reply almost deafened him. Adoir quickly turned the volume down as the barrage of cheers assaulted the vox lines.**

The column rolled out of the village at full attack speed, as soon as the line was out of the streets, the tanks fanned out, weapons blazing in the dying light.

Robart roared over the vox link as Adoir kept it wide open through the barrage "Spear head gamma formation, form up on me, the emperor protects!" 

**The one hundred armored units split into the arrow head formation, each tank covering the one to its left and right. The formation roared on, crushing squealing orks beneath its iron tracks, blowing apart survivors without hesitation or mercy. Mangled, ruined bodies of the ork scum lay scattered in the wake of the advancing armor, as shells from the defense line whooped over head, punishing the orks dearly. Pintle mounts chattered, AT guns thumped, and turret mounts roared as the advancing armor simply rolled over the horde. The ork mettle finally breaking. Shattering, fleeing, dying. The First killing the retreating mass. Pushed on under pain of death the infantry were rallied and marched back, headlong into the armor formation.**

"Formation break and run, I repeat break and run. Lone wolf, Lone wolf!" Robart bellowed over the battlefield noise, giving the lone wolf order. The order for all tanks to split the formation and work alone. The armor peeled off out of the formation and the tanks criss-crossed over the wasteland they had created, firing between each other with perfect precision, not staying in one place long enough to become a target. The Xenos lines erupted in flame, the death screams of wounded orks echoing over the battlefield, Orks trapped between rumbling tanks, panicking and being blow apart, cowering in fear. Shells still falling from the dug in lines at the village. The orks began to flee, the remnants of the massive force staggering back to their settlement. The engagment lasted just over an hour. The xenos infantry shattered and retreating.

"All units form up and hold, continue firing on Xenos lines. Well done men, the emperor protects." Robart sighed, collapsing in his command chair.

Kenny piped up, "Congrats lads and ladies, we done it!" the cheer for the crew of the Heart was enemas, but sounded tired and stressed.

"May I sir?" De Hellier spoke softly through the intercom, looking up to the general, and the general knew exactly what he meant.

"Be my guest Mikal, make sure to hit the fat ones."

"I shall try sir." Mikal sniggered gently and began to load an incendery shell into the breach, aiming it manually through the scopes by his seat, finally becoming content with his choice of target and speaking softly over the intercom.

"Firing main weapon, brace."

"Fire at will gunner." Robart smiled and gazed through the scope to were he guessed De Hellier was firing. The long barreled vanquisher gun fired, the tank rocked on its axles and a large heap of metal blew into shards, bodies that Robart hadn't even seen flew out into the dusk sky.

"Very good Mikal, body count?"

"Nine Sir, one leader eight troops." Robart trusted the mans skilled of spotting and firing, rumors that he had once been one of the most successful hit man in the imperium seemed more and more feasible every day. He had to ask Mikal some time. But for now, it was back to rest. They were gone for now.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Surface of Artima IV**

**200kilometers west of Artima Major**

**After the Assault**

**The command dug-out was dimly lit, and it stank of stale caffeine, mud and the ever increasing stench of the corpses outside the perimeter. Robart stood at the chart table, gazing bleakly at the map of Artima. They had seen off every last ork that had rushed the village. Some squadrons were still out finishing off the survivors. Even so, that couldn't have been all of them, the estimation from imperial command was about three million. They had killed almost four million in the past thirty minutes, but it wasn't just that. Something told him there was much more, far more than anyone could have imagined. Maybe it was nothing, but there was a doubt. The most lethal weapons in war are fear and doubt. Robart didn't know what it was, maybe because it was his home world, but this wasn't like him. He had seen many mass conflicts, single battles drawn out for days on end. But this...? This was something else, in the back of his mind, that persistent little voice telling him that it wasn't going to end well. He shook the thought as Atos walked in through the gas curtains carrying a large battered box and set it on the table.**

"Your weapon cells as you requested Sir." Atos spoke as if he was about to drop onto the grimy floor of the dugout with fatigue.

"Thank you Atos, are all of the crews switched over and prepared?"

"Yes Sir, everyone is in place, except McCenish and his squadron. They are with the fitters."

"Oh yes. Wasn't sure of the details though, what happened?."

"Yes sir, his sponson gunner touched of the pack of an ammo lugger, lit up like a Christmas tree. Took of the tracks of his tank and ripped a hole through the turret of his wingman." 

**  
"Any casualties?"**

"Just minor Sir."

**"That's good Atos, at ease. We have plans to make."**

"Sir." As Atos replied wearily, Robart opened the heavy metal box with a clang. Plucking one of the cylindrical canisters from the slots and weighing it in his hand. It reminded him of his past, how he taught his son to use the family plasma rifles. That was before the founding of course. And before the orks. His mind sank; the situation was bleak, very bleak indeed. Robart shook the thoughts from his mind, there was always hope. Hope was the only constant in war, without hope all was truly lost. Also, there had been some vague reports from the sentinel scouts of humans running about through the city. No contact had been made, but it was again, a glimmer of hope. Robart thought about his family again. Could they still be alive? Atos said something he didn't quite catch and he pushed the memories to the back of his mind and focused on the task in hand. It was going to be a long night.

**The pintle mount chattered, cutting down another terrified and wounded ork. The retched thing tried to haul a pistol from its waistband; Zorena fed it some more lead. Zorena was out with her squadron, sweeping up as the brief had called it. Seemed more like cold-blooded murder, picking off the wounded But it was orders, even if the orders were almost always cruel. It was the way it had to be done. She had lived by them for so long now they almost seemed second nature. But her fathers teaching had never truly left her, and never would. **

**If you had to kill, make it quick and painless. That was what he had said, he was a very wise man, a hunter in the Artiman foothills. The long-las she used had been his, scratch built by his own hands. He had given it to her before she left on the transport to the founding fields. It was the only time she had seen him cry. Everyone perceived her as the tough, silent, killer. She was that on the outside yes. Not deep down. She had never told anyone, never been close enough to anyone. It was her secret, and for now she decided to keep it. Maybe one day, maybe one day soon she would share it. For now, it was back to the sweeping. She called down to her coms man below.**

"Vox back to command, tell them it's clean out here."

"Ma'am," the crewman replied.

The Black Widow lurched off back to the village and another sentinel team jogged off towards the ridge. Zorena watched them disappear off into the distance.

**The clanking and whirring coming from the ammunition chimera was beginning to get to him, the fitters had been re-supplying tanks for over an hour now. Surely, with all the technology, they could find a way to re-supply tanks quietly. Kern sat on a ration crate, stirring his pot of soup with a spanner. It wasn't five star, but it was edible and better than the ration pack soup. Everyone loved Kerns cooking, and he had become accustomed to cooking with anything he could gather. From plant life and wildlife, to rations and iho-sticks, Kern had used it all. Today it was a lovely steaming pot of "ration layer soup", its name being so because of the properties of ration packs. Different packs floated at different levels in water, so the effect was, when mixed, a soup made from them had layers. Another strange but well loved recipe from the Veyer frontline cookery book.**

This time he didn't even hear Van Voytz coming over the noise of the fitters. He snatched the spanner from Kern, throwing it aside and submerging his flask in the liquid, filling it and drinking deeply from the canteen. Kern watched on in a rage. Eric spat the liquid onto the cracked pavement hissing at his adjutant

"What the hell is this you swine? Can't you do anything? I thought you were supposed to be a chef?" Eric spoke as one would to a mongrel dog.

"It's soup Sir, and yes Sir I am a chef." He gritted his teeth, trying to restrain himself from butchering the stuck up moron were he stood.

"Stop playing around with that muck, and come clean my uniform." Eric flounced off again in the direction of his dug out, leaving Kern fuming, throwing the spanner full force into the nearest wall. If it was the last thing he done, Kern was going to show the good major what he thought of him. Kern stormed off to the Xenos to relax and calm himself.

**Kenny sat, reclined on the front armor of the Heart, sipping from his flask. De Hellier was sitting on the turret with Iros playing regicide with a battered set. Adior was off getting some parts for his caster. He had explained what he was getting and why, but Kenny wasn't that educated in field mechanics. Ersia had gone to, finding some food and some extra ammunition. So he relaxed on the hull of the Heart, chatting quietly with the gunners.**

"Who's winning up there?" Kenny asked, not really expecting a reply.

"You know Mikal always beats me, mate." Iros's thick booming voice came down from above.

"Still don't know why you keep playing with him."

**"He continues to engage in this game with me because we have nothing better to do, Kenith." Mikal spoke softly as he always did, adding an air of class to the otherwise average conversation.**

**"I know what you mean, waiting is the worst." As Kenny finished off his sentence, Eric Van Voytz walked down the line of idol tanks, barking orders as he strode down the road.**

"Here comes the short weakling arm of the law," Iros joked, not even needing to look up to know who was coming.

"Yeah boys...best be on our best behavior when the major is around." Kenny sniggered at his own sarcasm as the Major approached and sneered up at Iros and Mikal.

"And what precisely do you men think you are doing?" Eric spoke with complete contempt and arrogance

**"We are merely passing the time Sir. Unless you have a problem with our game Sir." Mikal spoke fluently to the shorter man down on the ground.**

"Yes I do… private… as you should well know it is against the law to gamble in the imperial guard."

Iros spoke up now, looking down at the major with a grin that was altogether unsettling "We ain't gambling sir, just a nice game of regicide, passing the time Sir."

"True as that may be, it is still against imperial law to loiter and that is exactly what you are doing . You three come with me." He raised his laspistol sluggishly, fully intending to shoot them all if he was not obeyed. Eric wasn't altogether in mind or body. Kenny was enraged by this, but wasn't prepared to die for it. Such a small incident and he pulled a gun on them, and it was an offence that few commissars or officers enforced. Van Voytz was out to get them. Kenny had no idea why, but he was for sure, most of all the General. As he turned to look up at other men on the Hearts turret, he saw the most amazing sight that he had ever witnessed. Time seemed to slow down as Mikal De Hellier sprinted along the barrel of the Vanquisher gun, and dived from it, straight towards Van Voytz's laspistol. The faces of every other witness told the story. The shock of the event etched onto their features. The stunned, horrified gasp on Erics face, his eyes wide with panic. As quick as lightning, De Hellier landed, rolled and had kicked the pistol from the loose grip of the major. Eric's gaze followed De Hellier around behind him, but he looked around sharply, his face an angry grimace. That all changed to terror when he saw what he was turning to.

"Imperial law this." Kenny bellowed as he smacked Van Voytz around the head with a wrench, felling the puny man onto his face, whimpering, blood running from his nose.

"Should we leave him?" Iros questioned, trying not to burst into laughter at the sight before him.

"I have an idea lads, play along." Kenny spoke, a tone in his voice that made the others interested instantly. Kenny kicked over the sad sack of bones that lay quivering on the ground, so Eric was facing up, blood pouring from his nose and mouth, tears marking out paths down his mud blackened cheeks.

"Let's say no one else hears about this. Eh Voytz? Or we may have to pay you a visit in the medical bay." Kenny spoke in such a tone, one so dark that every one of the Dark gods' servants would have given everything to have it. And as he spoke, Iros stood behind him, in Eric's view, cracking his knuckles, fists as big as track segments.

"Yes, yes… anything... please don't kill me…" Eric's pathetic voice made the crew scoff. The bravado major, reduced to tears! They left him there crying and shaking as he struggled off to his dugout a trickle of filthy crimson blood marking his way.

**Zorena sat giggling impishly at the sight of the major, she relished the fact he had got his comeuppance. Her only regret was that she hadn't punched him herself. She turned back to watch the horizon, still giggling at the major's pathetic stagger. It was the most pleasing thing she had seen in the past twelve years of warfare. She took a look through her ancient scope, and seen one of the sentinels from before. They hadn't been gone long, a few hours perhaps. But what had happened to the other two? And this one was staggering violently as if drunk, as smoke billowed from its engine. Something was wrong.**

**The sudden noise brought the two men outside. Robart and Atos rushed out to see what was happening. The sentinel had fallen over outside the dugout, smoke filled the air, as two fitters hauled the scout pilot from the mangled remains of his sentinel. Robart rushed over to the pilot, Atos close behind, medics running from field hospitals they had set up. The man was covering in dried blood, gashes in his head and torso still bleeding. He was burned down one side and almost unconscious.**

"Can he speak? What happened?" Robart asked the closest fitter, and he looked on, horrified. Lost for words at the atrocity that was the pilots injuries.

"Pilot, what happened to you?" Robart spoke reassuringly to the injured pilot as medics treated his wounds.

He spoke weakly, coughing up blood; his words slurred as the burns had twisted half of his mouth into bubbled ruined flesh. "Armor Sir... Orks... Lots... lost my… my wingmen Sir." He could not continue, the pain becoming too much. Robart turned to his colonel.  


**"Go with him Atos, if he can speak, find out what happened in more detail, from what he said there. It looks like a xenos armor charge."**

"We must prepare, they could be minutes away sir." Atos seemed worried.

"Yes, I'll organize the crews, you find out more about this. The emperor protects."

"The emperor protects sir." Atos saluted to the general and followed the medics into the house they had commandeered. Robart jogged back to the dugout, collecting some papers, maps and charts. Collecting his vox pack from the wall hook and running to the Heart. This may well be the end of the Artiman first, but they were going to make the greenskins pay dearly.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Surface of Artima  
150kilometers from Artima Major**

**2200 hours standard**

**The wasteland before him was bleak. The gray surface dotted with wrecks of PDF armor and the corpses of citizens of Artima. It was a disheartening sight, the final battlefield of Artima IV. The thick haze was drifting over the landscape and the spires of Artima Major could just be seen over it. Robart swept his magoculars over the landscape, looking down to the next village they had to take. Between them and the village lay seventy-five kilometers of open land and just over half a million ork armored units. It didn't look promising, but then again, they had overcome every obstacle so far, and all of them by rights should have flattened them. **

**Robart walked back to the Heart and climbed aboard. He had planned the coming battle to the best of his abilities. C section to the right, D section to the left, A section and B section coming down the middle and E section hanging back as fire support on the ridge. Also he has sent some fitter crews down to lay remote mines, hopefully funneling the ork armor straight down the middle, into the firsts field of fire. **

**They had moved forward to the ridge under cover of darkness. Their original posistion was the fallback. But the ridge was the frontline. Almost everyone was in place, in waiting, ready to ambush as soon as the orks were close enough.**

**"Kenny, take us back to A section."**

**"Sir, " Kenny replied, more solemnly than usual.**

**"General Sir?" Adoir spoke through the intercom**

**"What's up Garson?"**

**"Got some movement on the scanners sir, about 15 kilometers east."**

**"Are there many?" Robart questioned, already assuming the worst.**

**"No sir, about five or six, slow moving. Possibly a scout party."**

**"Too slow, but send a squadron to keep an eye on that section, no engagements."**

**"Yes sir." Adoir turned to his vox panel and called in the orders to an idle squadron and sent them forward within a matter of seconds. If this was the beginning of the ork charge, there were ready for them. The whole regiment ready and poised to charge. They were never going to give up their homeland without a fight. Robart closed the hatch and began fitting his gun rig to his torso.**

**Zorena sat in her command chair, looking through the periscope. The battlefield was grim, a vast expanse of dirt and dried blood. Wreckage lay before her, mangled bodies strewn around, all the way from the ridge to the target village. Reinhoven she thought it was called. Not that it mattered. Everyone was gone now, only orks inhabited "point 249 zone 13". It made everything seem sterile. Nameless villages, nameless bodies, it all seemed far too cold. She strapped her long-las into its holster under the rim of the hatch. Checking that her mag pouches were full. It was going to be a long night, and a lot of killing. It was necessary, but killing was killing. Zorena pushed the thought into the back of her mind as the large gray dust cloud came into view, easily a few kilometers long, and coming towards them at an alarming speed. She called down to her crew.**

"Get ready lads, here they come."

"Ma'am, " the crew replied as a single, trained and drilled voice.

**"Com's, send the message to command. The storm has arrived."**

**The grots hurried around the deck with crates and boxes, rolling barrels to each other on the metal grille. The firing slots were cranked open and the weapons rolled into position. Down below the Techboys were running the massive engines, and readying even more weapon mounts. ****Uzslag watched over his orks working, preparing for the task ahead, and out of the portholes dotted a lot the side of the room, he could see his legions of tanks. Thousands upon thousands of armoured fighting vehicles. He called over the nearest grot gun team with a grunt.**

"Oi, you, 'meer now." Uzslag pointed to the spot in front of him with a gnarled green digit and the leader of the gun crew came over.

**"Wha's up boss?" The tiny creature had to look directly up and shout to make his high pitched voice heard.**

**"How'z the gunz?"**

**"All ready Boss, all rolled out, wait'n ta go." The little green beast grinned, its yellow fangs dripping with black liquid.**

**"Good, get ready ta fire, on my orda. OK?"**

**"Rite boss." The green beast stuck up a minute thumb and went back to his gun team. Uzslag checked his custom shootas, and leaned on the rail of the command deck, looking out. He was about eighty feet up, as the battle fortress rumbled onwards to the village. Tanks and trucks swarming around it like flies. As he turned to go to his throne in the centre of the room, the chief mech came over to him, his bionic leg clanking on the steel floor.**

**"Boss, got sum news for ya. Pretty exitin' stuff." The chief mech looked as if he would explode if he didn't tell someone his news.**

**"Wha' you found out now? Ya found a new way ta flush the bog?...again?" Uzslag spoke with utter disdain and contempt for the chief mech. He had always thought that they were nerds, but they were handy.**

**"Na boss, we seen some stuff movin' around, all sneaky like. East it was, not far, just in the trees over there." He pointed, but the warboss wasn't looking.**

**"Wha' 'av ya dun bout it? If its humies you'll be da meet shield." He started to take some interest as the information sunk in.**

**"Na need fur that boss. Sent me techboyz down er wit me new gadgets. Shud be bac befur tee." The chief mech laughed through his augmented voice box, and hobbled off again, the machinery in his spine clicking and whirring. The warboss wasn't sure what to make of the news. He had always suspected the Techboyz to be a little over eager to test out a new toy. It may be nothing, but if it was the enemy, they could blow a hole through his lines. He would send some boyz over to the east later. For now he reclined in his battered upholstered chair. Just another little luxury that made him feel civilised, and he waited for the fight to arrive. It would come soon enough.**

**Robart Le Cardinale stood atop the Heart, looking over the lines of tanks assembled just behind the ridge, waiting for the order. He checking in with Adior regularly, checking the scanners. Every few minutes, another few hundred blips had appeared. The enemy was moving slow. That was helpful. It gave the First some more time to prepare. It wasn't looking good, even with the element of surprise. The last scout party had reported a large structure surrounded by armoured units. And the movement in the tree line was still bothering him. He knew it was important to the whole battle plan somehow. But he had no idea why. It was just something in his mind telling him. Robart didn't know if he should attack that ground now, or watch over it for a while longer. He checked in with Adoir again, hoping he may be able to shed some light onto his doubts.**

"What's the tally Garson?"

"Bad Sir, another hundred or so contacts on screen and there is a huge return coming from the centre of the mass Sir. One single unit about a hundred times the size of all the others. But they are coming straight into the killzone Sir." Adoir spoke with some hope in his tone, and just that hope from one man made Robart feel better, and the news wasn't so bad either. They could kill much more if they wandered into the killing field. Robart decided to check in with all section leaders, find out if they had any miraculous ideas. He keyed his micro bead, sitting down in his hatch.

**His men were dragging the bodies of the orks back into the camp on the east side, just in the tree line, there had been a minor fire fight as they were setting up the guns. They didn't look much like orks, they were scrawny and pale. They carried rucksacks full of tools and were carrying strange weapons that none of his men had ever seen before. They were dead anyway. That's all that mattered. A trooper called to him from the trench line.**

**"Captain, got a tag on a vox message, imperial guard Sir." The young trooper seemed excited about his discovery as he handed the vox mic to him. It was orders for armour units, no it was just chatter, a back and forth between what seemed to the captain like a general and a major or a colonel. Who ever it was. He thought best not to make contact.**

**"Keep listening, if anything important comes through tell me. No contact if you please."**

**"Yes Sir." The trooper returned to his battered vox caster and notepad. The captain thought it best not to make contact, the orks may be listening. It wasn't in there best interests to give away their position. They waited for the fight to begin. Captain Toma Le Cardinale walked back to his Dugout, slinging his family plasma rifle over his shoulder. **


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Point 220 Zone 11 "The Ridge"**

**150kilometers from Artima Major**

**0000 hours standard**

**It had been two hours since Robart checked in with his officers, and in that two hours the bulk of the ork force had emerged from the fog, unwillingly straight into the killzone and the claymore field. He was just waiting for the right time to set off the explosives to cause as much damage as possible. The first of the ork shells had begun to hammer into the ridge, not touched his men yet. But it would soon. The first ork tanks were beginning to leave the minefield. He sent the order to the entrenched fitter teams with the triggers. Robart had to shout over the blasts from the incoming munitions.**

**"Prime the claymores, fire on my command" Robart could feel his heart racing, the time for battle drawing near.**

**"We're ready sir, all claymores armed" The fitter's voice came back distorted. The magnetic pulse of the explosions interfered with the Vox, but Adior was doing well. And after an agonizing few minutes, that seemed more like years, he gave the order.**

**"Fire claymores!" The order came over the vox like a carrion call, as a kilometer of gray land was blown thirty feet in the air, taking tanks and orks with it. The firing suddenly became sporadic and weak, only a handful of ork armor surviving. Battered and burning, the wreckage of over three thousand tanks lay scattered over the scorched earth the remains of injured crew fleeing through the heaps of twisted metal and flames. **

**The cheer went up over the imperial lines, but it soon faded as ten minutes later the rest of the ork force came charging through the wreckage, at full attack speed, all guns blazing. Robart roared over the weapons fire and ork chants.**

**"Advance! Give them no quarter! Hunt down the xenos scum! We shall liberate our homeworld! Charge!" As Robart thundered over the vox, all five hundred fighting vehicles of the Artiman First armored arose as rapidly as a storm, charging down the ridge with the ferocity of a pack of wolves. **

**The battle had begun.**

**Uzslag threw a passing grot out the window in his rage. He had lost a chunk of his force in one foul swoop. The idiot humans would pay for that. No one in the galaxy dared to anger Uzslag Grubfang Grimork. They would feel his wrath and they would burn before the sun rose. The next grot that approached him was crushed against the wall and his companion was obliterated under the heel of Uzslag's iron boot. His rage continued as he issued the order to advance.**

**"Oi! Driver moov uz forward! Now!" His fangs dripped with saliva and his yellow, cat like eyes burned. **

**"A-A-Aye B-Boss." The Techboy at the helm was terrified of what the warboss was going to do if he didn't obey, so he cranked the battlefortress to top speed and advanced with the tanks.**

**"Wha' you boyz doin? Get thos gunz firein!" **

**"B-But Boss w-we'll hit our boyz at the front, b-boss" The grot gunner that replied was quickly dispensed of as a hyper velocity round atomised him. **

**"Anywun else wanna argu?" Uzslag swept his shoota around the cabin, searching for anyone stupid enough to forward an argument. No one replied. The batteries commenced firing. The warboss sat down in his chair again, overseeing the weapons firing into the distance. He changed the clip in his Shoota. He felt better. **

**Another ork round slammed into the ridge, whipping over the top of the advancing armour. The orks fired as they rumbled forward up the ridge, missing almost every shot and with the advantage of the high ground, the Imperial's were turning the ork lines into scrap metal. Each and every round fire was expertly placed on a weak point, blowing the targets into shards of metal and muscle tissue. In the first half-hour the imperial forces had stormed down the ridge and pushed over half a kilometre into the wasteland, scattered wrecks lying, still burning in their wake. **

**Robart scanned the battlefield through the periscope, guiding De Hellier onto a static target. **

**"Main gun firing. Brace." The call coming from Mikal, even polite in the heat of battle, another AT round flew from the long Vanquisher gun and tore through an ork tank, showering the heart with shrapnel and smoke as the magazine ignited. Another ork tank swerved around the burning corpse of the first. Traversing its turret around to face the Heart, Robart could clearly see the screaming ork in the hatch brandishing a spanner. **

**"Gunner?" The tension was rising, Robart waited for the ork round to smash into the front of the Heart.**

**"Loading sir!" De Hellier shouted over the intercom, his voice told everyone that his confidence had not wavered as he rammed another round home.**

**"Hull AT, open fire!" Robart roared through the intercom **

**"Firing Sir, target taking hits!" Ersia screamed back over the link, sounding stressed, her autocannon pounding as the loader thumped in round after round.**

**"Firing solution acquired Sir, permission to fire." De Hellier shouted through the intercom, aligning the sights for the main gun.**

**"Fire at will, Gunner!" Robart replied to his layer, releived and braced for the recoil.**

**"Firing main weapon, brace!" As De Hellier completed his sentence the tank rocked as the blast send the AT round straight through the enemy's front armour destroying it outright. Robart looked round with the periscope, seeing the rest of the column moving up behind, destroying ork tanks as they went.**

**"Kenny, move us up, we're on point remember. You ok Ersia?, sounding stressed down there."**

**"Little shaken sir, nothing a victory can't fix, theres just so many" She still sounded on edge.**

**"Moving Sir!" Kenny replied over the intercom, the thunder of ork rounds almost drowning his voice out entirely. The Heart swung round the wreck it had been covering behind and out into the battle.**

**"Adior, link me up to all units!" More shells fell around them as Iros and Ersia let loose with the sponsons and Kenny dodged falling shells with the rest of the armour following behind. Robart shouted over the vox link as Adior struggled with the caster to keep the line open.**

**"A section, form up on me...keep moving avoid a slug fest at all costs. Attack formation, B section keep moving with us, follow up the formation. When we get to the wide ground open up and extend the formation." Robart ended the transmission and flicked back to intercom.**

**"Gunner! Do you have a target?" Robart roared over the increasing volume of the ork weapons.**

**"Over forty solutions sir!" De hellier shouted up to his commander, Almost relishing the thought of forty enemies.**

**"Fire on all targets gunner, keep them suppressed" Robart's confidence was building again, if they continued like this it was winnable.**

**"Will do Sir" De Hellier smiled broadly and began loading another round into the breach.**

**"Iros, how's the ammunition?" Robart asked his sponson gunner.**

**"Brace!" De Hellier cut in, his drilled firing method working superbly.**

**After the tank had recoiled Iros replied "Third gone already sir, it's like a bloody harvest, just mowin' down the infantry Sir"**

**"Good man, Give them hell." Robart returned, gazing through the periscope at the raging battle outside.**

**"Brace!" Mikal shouted again, announcing another shot. Robart looked out over the formation, both sections had fanned out, the entire width of the battle field was covered by the imperial tank line. Robart punched the hatch open standing up out side the tank. Roaring over the battle noise.**

**"Onward! To glory!" He roared over the vox link, every trooper under his command hearing the same words, each and every man and woman inspired to victory, each and every trooper having renewed confidence and having the eternal ferocity and passion to drive the xenos foe from there homeland.**

**"All sections! Box them in! Go!" As Robart spoke, Every unit in the Artiman First moved. One hundred and fifty tanks coming in on each flank, pinning the orks in, and two hundred Tanks thundering in straight ahead of them, the odds... a mere eight to one ratio in favour of the orks. Nothing like a little competition. The morle was high, it looked like a white wash for the imperials.**

**"Dare not falter!" Robart thundered with the might of a god, reaching behind him and hauling his dual plasma rifles from his holster rig and firing into the ork hoard. All five hundred tanks of the First throwing shells into the tightly packed ork armour.**

**The gap between the imperial forces and the xenos forces was closing rapidly, as the orks made a last ditch armour charge into the advancing Imperial tanks. To Robarts left a Demolisher pattern was cut in half by a gout of bright blue energy, he recoiled as the light burned his eyes, roaring through the vox.**

**"Emplacement guns! Emplacement Guns! Cover!" The sudden barrage knocked his confidence badly, his doubts were rising again and he could sense it coming from his crew. Another lance of energy struck the ground as Robart continued to fire his rifles into the horde, more lances of energy rained down through the dense fog. Then it came into view. A massive tower, easily five storeys high, and bristling with weapons. Another tank to his right was blown apart by a bright blue lance. The Heart recoiled as another round blew an ork tank into shrapnel. And Robart ducked down into the turret as machine gun fire spanked off the hatch.**

**"Adior! Call all section commanders, what's the status?" Robart roared with anger, they were so close to finishing this quickly. It was going to be drawn out now, a hard slog with this tower thing.**

**"Sir!" Adior cried over an explosion close by. **

**"De Hellier, target the tower now! Ersia keep those damn tanks off us! Iros watch for AT infantry. Kenny get as close as you can to that thing, we're gunna strafe it." Robart called to his crew as more machine gun rounds pelted the Heart.**

**"Sir! C section's in close, reports of boarding coming in, holding well." Adoir cried over the hammering of an Exterminator outside.**

**"Good, what's happening with E and D?" A shell detonated close by, rocking the tank violently.**

**"Sir, we're getting close!" Kenny was shouting from the front of the tank.**

**"E section is reinforcing C and D. D section is locked in a stalemate, they are winning but it's slow." Adior turned to his panels in a hurry, panic beginning to set in as the enemy began to swarm the imperial line, trying to co-ordinate a counter push.**

**"Good. Keep us moving in Kenny." Robart flicked his microbead to broadcast. "A section on me, B section support, pincer with D, E and C Move!" Robart thought clearly to himself for the first time in the hour and a half of fighting. It was getting bleak again, he could feel the adrenaline surging through his body and pulsing in his ears. But as he had always told himself. Never doubt the human will to survive.**

**Uzslag looked out of the command rooms long view window. It was a massacre; the damn humans were destroying his tanks. But there were starting to slow down now. His tanks were holding the humans at bay now and his battle fortress was giving them hell. Uzslag thought of the perfect way to finish off a victorious battle. He turned to his deck crew and roared.**

**"Send in da Stormboyz!"**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Point 225-230 Zone 11-13**

**110kilometers from Artima Major**

**0200 hours standard**

**The shellfire was getting thicker by the second. As soon as a tank was blown out of the ork defence, another three tanks were waiting to fill in the gap. This was the worst fighting he had ever seen. Robart, ducking down in the hatch, reloading his rifles, panic setting in, memories of past fights filling his mind. Old friends lost in the heat of battle. Another artillery shell screamed down through the fog and sent a spray of mud and water over the Heart. Robart stood again, sending another incandescent blue round into a Xenos tank. The treads fell from its side and it lurched to a halt. It sat firing for a few seconds before it erupted in flame as it was riddled with shots from an Exterminator pattern. The ork tank line was just a few hundred yards away. It was about to get messy. Then Robart saw the sudden flash in the distance, filling the horizon, and he realised with horror what had caused it. He roared into his vox mic. Filled more with adrenaline that anything else, it was the only thing keeping him from pulling back.**

**"Assault infantry incoming! I repeat assault infantry incoming! Repel with maximum force! The emperor protects!"**

**"Sir! Impact! four seconds!" Kenny was screaming from the driver's seat, sounding terrified at whatever he could see ahead and Robart looked forward to see what he meant. The ork armour line was upon them.**

**Eric cowered in his command chair, clutching his pistol to him. Kern simply looked up at the Major with disdain and commanded the tank himself. Kern looked at his screens, marking down enemy disposition and hard points. Guiding six seven squadron into the thick of it. Where kern knew they would be needed. Another round smacked into the left flank of the Xenos and shook the tank, stunning the crew.**

**"Any damage?" Kern shouted down to the front of the tank.**

**"No, didn't penetrate, hell of a dent though!" The voice came back. Kern bearly herd the driver over the background noise. He felt as if they would crumble like a can any moment.**

**"Keep us moving, link up with Five Five squadron on bearing two. two. six."**

**"Moving in now mate!" The voice replied through his headset, Kern had no idea who it was, He could hear artilery in the background. Kern dismissed it as his mind playing tricks. He returned to his screen and seen the thick band of scanner returns and stared it not sure if it was a malfunction. Not knowing what it was he listening into the vox traffic as more shells rained down around them. He cried over the intercom.**

**"Assault troops are coming at us now, keep an eye out." Just as kern was returning to his panels, the startled Eric piped up.**

**"A… Assault?" His voice wavered badly with nerves and he was visibly shaking.**

**"Yes, as in boarding parties." Kern turned to his screens for a quick estimation "By the scans there..." When Kern turned back to look at his commanding officer. All he seen was the heel of his rapidly disappearing boot and an open hatch. Van Voytz was gone. In his place were the gnarled features of an ork, its horrid yellow teeth dripping with some rancid thick liquid. **

**It thrust a large handgun into the hatch, pointed directly at Kern. It roared in to the cabin. Kern in a panic, hauled his standard issue carbine from under his chart desk and acting purely on instinct and adrenaline fired on full auto through the hatch. The green skinned beast wailed in pain and tumbled away out of sight. Kern scrambled up into the hatch, raking the slid back on the pintle-mounted stubber. The few orks on the hull of the tank were pulverised by the high calibre shots. As acidic blood spattered over his worried features Kern set the commanders vox set onto his head and got a link with command. **

**"This is squadron six seven. Assault squads are boarding us. We are under attack!"**

**"Bring us in close Kenny! Gunner, aim for the tracks on that thing, Iros, Ersia keep them off us!"**

**"Moving in now sir, the rest of the squadron is following!" Kenny shouted up from his driver's seat, fighting with the controls.**

**"Solutions ready Sir!" De Hellier called in from the gun mount. As calm as if he was taking his fiancée for a stroll by the river.**

**"Sponsons ready!" Iros was thundering over the sounds of his own weapons firing, Xenos beasts falling all around them. Iros continued to laugh, his booming laughter probably killing the orks morale more than the furious tank charge,**

**"Hull AT ready Sir!" Ersia checking in as she ripped the turret from another tank, a looted predator. Once the pride of the Astares armoured companies, now just another pile of scrap metal being crushed beneath the tracks of the Heart. Robart stood up again, swinging his rifles up into the air and sending molten plasma hurtling into the assault troops that were descending on the imperial tanks. A jetpack ignited and half a dozen assaulting infantry were boiled in the burning fuel that spewed out from the destroyed pack. As the burning enemies screamed and fell from the sky, more were coming. They were blotting out the sky above. Robart continued to firing desperately into the mass of orks, his mind racing.**

**"Almost in position sir!" Kenny was screaming over the thundering of the towers engines. **

**Robart called over the vox to the formation behind "A section, concentrate fire on the tracks, demolishers aim for the emplacements. Move in!"**

**"Main weapons ready Sir!" De Hellier shouted through the intercom, waiting for the order. The sound was immense, small arms fire ricocheting off the thick armour of the Heart, the massive engines of the tower, and the constant chanting from the greenskins. Robart could hear Adior on the vox caster, co-ordinating the attack and keeping everything moving.**

**"We're there Sir!" Kenny screamed up, fighting with the controls of the Heart.**

**Robart keyed the vox link "All units fire at will!" The A section fired with one simultaneous volley. The combined blast blew the left tracks into twisted shards of shrapnel. The demolishers blew out an emplacement and knocked out a boarding ramp. The tower was sitting still, but even so, it was giving them hell. Atos came over the vox link.**

**"Gener...! We're in th...dle of a bloodb... here, can you ...t the artillery on tha... ower!" The colonel was roaring over the battle raging behind him, which made the signal distorted and chopped.**

**"Atos! Atos! Come in! Adoir can you boost that signal?" Robart cried down to his coms man, frustrated with the situation.**

**"Trying Sir, the artillery is knockin' out the vox!"**

**The signal suddenly became clear; small arms shots were going off close by. It sounded as if they were inside Atos' tank. "Atos come in! Come in Atos, this is Robart."**

**"Atos here, what the hell is going on? We're gettin' hammered out here! Just kicked a bloody ork out of the hatch!"**

**"We're giving the tower hell here, but it's not going down." Robart called back to his second in command as another volley of shots were sent screaming into the flank of the tower.**

**"I'd help but the remains of the ork armour are dug in!"**

**"Keep fighting, we can win this!" He was sure the doubt in his voice was inaudible in the noise of battle. But Robart knew it was there, it was a horrible feeling. As Robart was about to issue the order to bring the formation around again for another pass, a deafening roar split the general din of fighting. The shock wave that followed almost flipped the tank over. More of the same explosion followed and as Robart looked through the periscope, they were all hammering into the stricken tower and the Xenos armour was fleeing, morale broken by the barrage. Enemy tank after enemy tank was blown apart. Entire squadrons consumed by the blast. Robart could hear the shriek of more shells falling. He roared to anyone who could answer.**

**"What in the name of the emperor was that?!" He seemed as bemused as everyone else was, but De Hellier replied over the intercom.**

**"Looks like earthshaker rounds, heavy artillery Sir." **

**"I know that Mikal! But from where!? It's not the orks for sure!" Another round smashed into the retreating orks sending a dozen tanks into the air, blowing the hatches and turrets clean off. Robart was beginning to feel the blessing of the emperor return.**

**"Whoever it is, I'm gunna kiss 'em when I find them!" Kenny shouted from the front.**

**"Oh no your not!" scolded Ersia. That was good, Robart thought, moral was better. Never underestimate the human will to survive.**

**The ork tanks were in full retreat; the tower was falling apart. Toma lowered his magoculars, pleased with the outcome, and strode back to his basilisk squadron as another volley was being sent into the ork lines.**

**Enraged by the defeat, (and he knew it was a defeat, there was no coming back from this) Uzslag looked out of the gyrocopter as it took off from the top of his battle fortress. He had to make an escape before the whole thing came down. He had left his crew fighting for their lives, burning, bleeding out. Uzslag didn't really care about them. They were all expendable. The gyrocopter cycled up and took off, just dodging a shell that obliterated the landing pad. It was back to the Settlement to hatch a new plan.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter****8**

**point 249 zone 13 "Reinhoven"**

**100kilometeres from Artima Major**

**0500 hours standard**

**Thick banks of smoke rolled over the battlefield from untold thousands of smoldering tanks and corpses, friend and foe alike. Robart looked back over the landscape as Kenny and Iros approached with some troopers he didn't recognize. **

**"Sir." Kenny said as he approached.**

**"Sir, This is the captain of the resistance, and a few of his officers." Iros gestured to the group of soldiers following them. They looked tired, dirty but above all afraid. All except the Captain. He seemed somehow familiar to Robart but for the life of him, he could not figure out why. Robart discarded the though and greeted the men and women. **

**"Good day to you all, I am the commander of this regiment, and myself and all of my troopers thank you for your assistance in the previous battle." Robart tried to speak as De Hellier would, it seemed the right thing to do.**

**"Evenin mate, pleasure to shoot some orks for you." The captain spoke, covered from head to toe in soot and mud, his white teeth were that little bit more noticeable. He was quite tall, medium length black hair. Although it might have been grime. He had an ancient rifle over one shoulder and stood proudly and full of confidence. He extended his hand to Robart and they shook hands.**

**"Glad to see someone is alive. Is this all of you?" Robart forgot about the formalities, Mikal was better suited to those.**

**"Nah mate, got a few hundred men. Most of them are scattered around the city though." The young man said thoughtfully scratching his stubble. He only looked about seventeen.**

**"Got many big guns? Apart from the artillery, got a first hand look at those. Remember to tell me where you fire next time. It was rather shocking." Robart spoke jokingly, as if to a family member at a reunion. **

**"Sorry mate, it was a bit of a mess down there, just fired at the biggest target we could see." The man laughed, coughing up some soot as he did.**

**"Thanks anyway, I'll send some supplies down to your men, just tell the fitters were you want them."**

**"Thank you sir, I must be off. Need to hide the basilisks again." The captain saluted and strode off as he had came, his officers following behind. They looked like monsters from the swamp in childhood tales as they marched back into the trees covered in muck and dirt. Robart liked them already. Whoever they were.**

**Captian Toma Le Cardinale walked off back to the waiting Basalisks with his officers. That general seemed very friendly. He had to talk to him more often, he seemed very familiar to him. He like him already, probably somthing to do with his fatherly nature. **

**Kern lay on a large crate in a tailor's shop. It was abandoned of course. He lay thinking about what had happened to Eric. He was just gone, probably dead now. All these years he had wanting him gone. But now that he was, Kern felt empty and he hated to admit it, but he missed Eric. Partly because Kern had to take his place as section commander. The stress was already getting to him, and the deaths that would be on his concious with the next battle. Well in fact, that was the only reason. He hated the Major. Other things troubled him. The face of the ork had been etched into his mind like a carving in a cathedral... no, not a cathederal. A graveyard. **

**But above all, the voice he had heard over the vox. The faint distorted voice. It was definitely not another tank. It had came from an infantry vox caster in the city. Kern couldn't shake the feeling that he had sent someone to there doom with his accidental command. A command meant for the driver, not for an infantryman most possibly in the middle of a firefight. Kern had checked the logs on his onboard caster but couldn't trace the signal. But the infantry caster's tracer tag was 119.44. Alpha. Kern had no idea why he had memorized it. It seemed the right thing to do. He lay back again and tried to push the haunting thoughts out of his mind.**

**Again Zorena and her squadron had been appointed sweepers. They had almost finished clearing up the battlefield. Another four hour drive through smoldering tanks, rotting corpses and the screaming and begging wounded. She sat down in her command chair, blocking out the hell outside. It was beginning to get to her. Breaking her down slowly. She watched a team of medics struggling to stabilize a loader who had lost most of his left side to burns. Even inside the Black Widow she could hear his screams of agony. She called down to the driver. **

**"Move us on, thought I seen movement over by that land raider."**

**"Moving Ma'am" The driver spoke softly, seemingly unperturbed by the carnage around them. They rolled off through the mess as a fitter crew was hauling a damaged demolisher back to the new base at Reinhoven. Zorena looked out as the Widows gunner fired a shot into some dense wreckage and a few orks flew out of the flame. Dead. Zorena closed her eyes as one of the orks climbed onto a rock, begging for mercy. An AT round hit it from the Tank to her right. A single tear ran down her cheek, no one ever knew the day that Zorena Adara finally wept. She whispered to herself over and over,**

**"I must be strong, the emperor protects, war is the only constant."**

**Kenith King sat on a crate of beer as the needle buzzed against his skin. Ersia Delmino, his lover was sitting beside him, moving the tattoo pen expertly over his dense arm muscles. Her long brown hair covering her face as she worked. **

**"I have no idea why you do that Kenny." Iros spoke up on the other side of the bar, emerging with another barrel of ale.**

**"Makes me feel tough mate, thought you of all people would understand tough. Besides, the girls love them." Kenny spoke with a grin, wincing as the needle moved through his skin. **

**"He does have a point." Ersia spoke, looking up from her work to give Kenny a kiss on the mouth as he lay there.**

**"Still, don't like needles myself, never could stand them." Iros spoke to the pair vacantly as he polished off some rations rolling the barrel outside. Kenny and Ersia stared after him bemused by the fact that Iros Greyer, the largest man in the regiment was afraid of needles.**

**"There you go hun, all finished" Ersia threw another bottle of whesk over Kenny's newest tattoo and kissed him again.**

**"Thank y-OW!" Kenny cried out as the alcohol began to sting the wound.**

**"You big wimp Ken!" Ersia punched him playfully on the arm, giggling and rose, walking over to the bar again. Kenny watched a group of men playing poker outside, Thompson, Gerard, Ssanard and he couldn't tell if it was Mkeller or Stepton. Ssanard dealt another hand. Kenny could make a good guess it was Thompsons 'exotic' deck again. Kenny watched Ssanard push a box of iho-sticks into the middle of the worn table.**

**Ersia spoke quietly from the bar. " Want some of this ken?" She sloshed a queer green liquid around in a dirty glass bottle.**

**"Sure, thanks babe." Kenny smiled over to his love and gazed back to the poker game. Ssanard was laughing, he obviously had the winning hand. He remembered the time back on the Graia when Ssanard and Veyer and a few others had tap danced naked around the hold. It brought a smile to his face. Kenny looked up at Ersia as she handed him the odd liquid in a cracked shot glass. He glanced back at the game, his eyes widened and the scene became etched on his mind permanently. Hadrian Ssanard lay face down on the table, a long serrated blade protruding from his back. A pool of deep crimson blood growing larger around him. **

**Iros sprinted across the street, seeing the large green ork run into the bar. Hadrian lay dead at a table, murdered by the lousy coward beast. It was going to pay dearly now. Iros burst through the door of the ruined bar and looked around in the gloom. A shape moved against the back wall. He realized he couldn't see Ersia or Kenny. Something fell in the corner, Iros charged over punching the Ork square in the bottom jaw as it dived from behind some boxes. It fell to the floor writhing, black blood flowing from its mouth. It kicked his legs out from under him and jumped on him, punching and kicking. Iros caught its left arm and punched it out of its socket. The thing screamed in pain and jumped back. Iros stood again staring it out. The beasts arm hanging loose by its side. It drew a large battered pistol and leveled it at Iros. Iros Greyer stood his ground, unflinching. The thing's mouth twisted into a hideous yellow grin and it pulled back the hammer with its thumb. **

**"YA GREEN MORON!" Kenny screamed and dropped from the rafters feet first, his heavy booted feet slammed into the things shoulders and felled it instantly, it screeched and its legs snapped, the loud dull 'crack' echoing around the bar. In one last desperate attempt to fight it crawled towards its fallen gun. But Ersia vaulted the bar and finished it off. Smashing a bottle over its head, more black blood pooled on the concrete floor.**

**"You're barred." Kenny announced after a short while with a smug grin. Iros laughed heartily at the terrible joke. **


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Point 249 zone 13 Reinhoven**

**100kilometers from Artima Major**

**0625 hours standard**

**Rain, it came down as one single body of ice cold water. It wasn't unusual for Artima IV, it was known for its rain. It was standard. Robart gazed out into the dim light of evening. Command had been set up in an old warehouse near the center of Reinhoven. Various tables, charts and pieces of equipment were set out around the room, Grumbling chimera APC's stood idling in the cooling weather. The room was fairly busy, com's men sat at the bulky caster sets, relaying information from scouting parties to the mappers who plotted the information on the huge map on the wall. Robart stood at the large loading bat door, sipping caffeine from a battered mug. A dark shape appeared in the distance through the dense rain. It became clearer as it got closer. It was a man, that was sure. The man came into the door and threw back a thick waterproof hood.**

**"Sir" Atos saluted, throwing his waterproof jacket onto a chair**

**"Wet?" Robart asked jokingly, turning back to the weather and his mug of caffeine. **

**"Say what you will about fitters Sir, they can brew good caffeine anywhere." Atos smiled, producing a small docket from under his tunic.**

**"I have a no idea how they manage to do it Atos, old friend." Robart spoke wearily, resting the mug on a crate and opening the docket. He read it over slowly, his face becoming even more tired looking as he rubbed his eyes. **

**"Comando raid? Care to elaborate?"**

**"Yes sir, we found three orks in hiding, one managed to kill a trooper. Private Hadrian Ssanard Sir. The beast stabbed him in the back." Atos spoke quietly, seeming as low as the general himself.**

**Robart sighed. "We need to do a final sweep of the West Side too, you keep command here, I'll take the sweeper squads out." Robart drained the mug, and picked up his gray leather trench coat and wandered off to find his crew. Atos stood for a while, trying to work out why. Why there was so much death, why there was a war, and why the fitters made such good caffeine. He smiled a little and walked into the command room.**

**They had taken up residence in the local fire-station. It was a little worse for wear. But they could fit the Heart inside out of the rain. Kenny insisted. Iros was sitting in the corner eating some more rations from a battered metal tin; his feet propped up on an old worn footstool. Ersia and Kenny were sitting on the side of the Tank, chatting and prodding each other, giggling while Kenny's holovox blasted out thumping rhythmic music. Adior was inside the tank playing with an ork radio he had found in the rubble, and was tuning into the ork command channels. Some resistance troopers were milling around the upstairs rooms with others from the First, and Robart was sure he had passed some medics playing cricket in the pouring rain outside.**

**"Sir." Adior shouted as he scrambled down from the tank, the ork radio strapped to his back. Everyone looked up as the General walked in.**

**"At ease, you have to stop doing that. Don't be so damn formal." **

**"Sir." The group chorused as one.**

**"Never mind, we're off on a day trip, down to the West Side. No time for sightseeing. Sorry Iros." Robart chuckled slightly.**

**"That's fine with me Sir, seen it all down there anyway." Iros sat back again, taking a swig from the 'in case of emergency or thirst' flask Kenny had given him. **

**"Ok, everyone get ready, Adior get my Major Adara's sweeper section. Anyone seen Mikal?" Just as the General finished his sentence. The door burst open and the rain cascaded through the doorframe, around the cloaked figure standing there. Mikal De Hellier swung his gun up and fired in the blink of an eye. The shot whizzed past Kenny's head and blew apart the holovox, which had been still playing. It lay on the concrete floor, a huge smoking hole were the bullet had struck it.**

**"If you can't listen to tasteful music Kenith. Do not listen to music at all my boy." De Hellier holstered his pristine revolver again, a large grin on his face as Kenny frowned.**

**"That's the third time this month Mik." Kenny retrieved his broken holovox and took it inside with him.**

**"I'm sorry Kenith, but it is rather grating. That music isn't worth listening to. And do not... call me Mik." Mikal strode over to the tank and got in with everyone else. Morale was high again. Robart got into the Heart, closing the hatch above him, and setting the headset onto his head.**

**"Move us off Kenny."**

**"Moving Sir," Kenny replied as the turbines cycled up and they moved off out into the pouring rain outside.**

**Kern had been looking over at one of the resistance vox casters for about half an hour now. A few of the resistance lay on sacks or on boxes sleeping. It was definitely one of them who had left it there with the kit bags. He had been running the idea through his mind. He wanted to go and check the vox tag on the kit. The voice from the battle was making him insane. He had to know. He walked over to it quickly, not making a sound and picked up one of the shoulder straps, looking at the tag. His heart jumped. It read '199.44.ALPHA - Private E. Breeg'. Kern couldn't believe it. Out of all the odds.**

**Thompson from four two two squadron opened the door, dripping wet. "Cardinale wants us moving, we're swapping with A section on the defense line. Let's go!" He shouted in and left to find the next group of men. Everyone was up and moving around, Kerns fellow crewmen were gathering kit and moving out into the rain. Kern looked over at the caster set on the wall where he had put it back. Two men passed by his field of vision carrying a box, when they had passed by. The caster and kit were gone.**

**The Black Widow rumbled down the street towards the few tanks parked there. The Heart of Artima stood idling, and a string of chimera transports stood behind it. Two of them were medical tanks.**

**"Bring us up here." Zorena called to her driver and the tank stopped on the corner of the street.**

**"Major Adara!" The General shouted from the road below, rain pelting his leather coat.**

**"General Sir. What's the situation?" Zorena saluted to her superior as she climbed down from the tank. Rain drumming over every surface.**

**"Got a job for your sweeper team. Scouts found this were house full of orks. I would like it if you cleaned it out for us." Robart spoke as if he was telling Zorena to go and get some bread and milk from the local mercantile. They walked over to the large iron doors. Some resistance troopers were milling around smoking and a sentinel stood watch over the door, looking as if in disgust at the beasts inside.**

**"We think it's a field hospital of sorts. Whatever the ork equivalent is." They stood under a small metal awning, the sound of the rain dulled slightly.**

**"A field hospital sir? like wounded?" Zorena spoke to her commander as if he had told her the most ridiculous thing in the world.**

**"Yes Major. Get your team together and clear it out and we can move on." Robart turned to go, only just hearing what Zorena said.**

**"No, this is horrible."**

**"What Major?" Robart turned on her.**

**"I can't do this, we can't do this. Orks or no orks. they are living things Sir." Her anger was beginning to build within her.**

**"Are you disobeying an order Major Adara?" He spoke, as if not understanding the implication.**

**"Yes I bloody well am. I will not shoot an enemy who is begging for mercy and can't defend himself."**

**The general didn't look angry really. Simply disappointed. He had had high hopes for the young major. They were gone now.**

**"Stand down Major, I'm relieving you of your duty, return to headquarters."**

**"HELL NO! I will not let you just murder them. It's a hospital for emperors sake!" She had finally snapped, her anger, her fear, everything came out as one.**

**Robart ran a hand through his short hair, as if losing the will to continue. The stress was getting to him. He signaled two troopers over and gave them their orders solemnly. The pair took Zorena by the arms and had to drag her to a waiting chimera. She was still kicking and screaming even when the troop hatch on the transport closed. Zorena Adara looked out from a vision slot in horror as the tank rolled away. The other two tanks from her team had rolled up to the doors as resistance troops opened the doors. She was silent for a moment, unable to create a sentence worthy of the scene. The sponsons chattered into life, pintle mounts joined in. Some troopers fired into the room with the tanks. From her slot, she could only make out the first few makeshift cots as they were blown into dust, blood splashing the walls as dying orks were slaughtered. The screams could be heard all over the West Side. The image would never leave her.**

**"NO! YOU CAN'T DO IT! YOU CAN'T!" she screamed all the way back to headquarters, floods of tears rippling down her cheeks. Not even the torrential rain outside could compete. **


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Artiman First Armoured HQ Reinhoven**

**100kilometers from Artima Major**

**0800 hours standard**

**Atos scrolled though the bleak list of dead and wounded. Twelve men dead, two tanks damaged beyond field repair, and four men wounded. He scanned though the list, memorizing all of the names. Some men he had known for years. Just gone. This was war he supposed, death and carnage for no real reason. The common soldier had no idea why he fought, he just did. It wasn't necessary, all the bloodshed. He scrolled down to the next report, the green hue from the data slates display lighting his features like some grim reaper from camp tales. He came to the next section. M.I.A; Missing in Action, only one entry in the section. The cursor on the screen blinked harshly over the name. Major Eric Van Voytz.**

**Uzslag strode into the massive vaulted room, once a cathedral. The Doks had taken it over and used it as a 'hospital'; he could hear the mixture of demented laughter, blades and tools clanking and the tortured screams of the patients. He walked down the isle between the lines of operation tables. Grots swarmed around each Dok, handing him tools and organs. Uzslag had to cover his eyes when one patient, a burner boy exploded on the table, blood and splinters of bone raining down. He marched on down to the altar, were filthy blood covered canvas screens surrounded the Chief Doks surgery. A Painboy opened the curtain for him as he walked up and entered.**

**"Dok. Wats happnin? Howz da humie?"**

**"HAH?" the dok whirled round, brandishing two blood covered scalpels, his one natural eye wide and dilated. His pale green features twitching violently beneath the layers of dried blood.**

**"Why you open im up already? I had planz for im ya stupid runt." Uzslag had the Dok lifted off his feet by his blood soaked apron, his pistol pressed to the Doks temple.**

**"NO BOSS! ITZ ALRITE ITZ ALRITE! I WUZ MAKIN ME TEA!" The Dok was squirming in Uzslags grip, his body twitching even more. He grinned at the boss, his rotted teeth showing through the holes in his lips. **

**"Wat?" After he had asked the question, he found the answer. The human wretch was strapped to a table at the back and the doks lunch was sitting on the table closest, a sandwich made of one of his former patients by the looks of it.**

**"He'z in da corna boss! He'z a rite wimp iz that un. Passed out soon az i show'd im me krotch hamma." The Dok pointed to a large iron mallet, covered with spikes at the business end. **

**"Most orkz do Dok." The boss put in, scratching his head. "Anywayz, let's get ta work, wake im up, and get ya boyz in ere." Uzslag reclined on a dental chair. Watching the proceedings, as he nursed his pistol back into its pouch.**

**"PAINBOYZ! GET IN ERE! NOW!"The Doks high pitched voice rang out through the cathedral like the sound of a car crash. A constant incoherent gibbering followed, the Doks deep-rooted insanity showing well. The Mad Dok threw a bucket of black stagnant water over the human guinea pig as a group of senior Painboyz stomped in.**

**"Rite ladz, today, we lurnin how to add stuff to a humie. Grab some bitz and letz get to da SERJERY!" His beaten cracked voice sounded horrifying, the painboyz cheered. The human began to wake up, seeing the gang of blood covered orks, masked and carrying masses of different violent looking tools. He screamed and one painboy exclaimed, cackling as if he had found a new body part to graft.**

**"He screamz like a flyboyz sista! HAHA!" The crowd joined in the laughter and the Dok pulled out a long, rusted, bent bone saw and a strange object that resembled a corkscrew and a nutcracker combined. His high pitched shaking voice rang out, still twitching with every syllable, mouthfuls of deranged babbling and groaning filling the gaps between words.**

**"Thiz is gonna HURT! ... ALOT!" As the words reverberated through his bones and mind, Major Eric Van Voytz blacked out again, hoping against all hope that this was just some horrible dream.**

**The rain had stopped today, the sky was still drawn over with thick cloud but at least it was dry. A wind was sweeping in from the highlands in the east. More fields lay ahead, and beyond them, lay the next target. The final town before they reached Artima Major. He couldn't remember the name, he scarcely cared anymore, everything seemed so pointless. **

**Kern sat on a rusting metal chair outside a cafe. Yet another family buisness to be destroyed by the orks. The roof had caved in at the one end and the rain had left mould everywhere. The tables still stood, some with plates of long since inedible food. There were a few bodies of civilians that had been killed. Someone had covered them with sheets. **

**Kern looked out into the expanse with his magoculars, and looked along the single road leading through the fields. A line of blown out chimeras lay beside the track, large black craters dotting the surface of the road, dull black and gray mounds were strewn all over. Kern looked away, struggling not to throw up. He took a drink from his canteen and closed his eyes to sleep. The visions still danced even in the darkness of sleep.**

**"Excuse me?" A voice penetrated his sleep, it sounded familiar. Kern opened his eyes and looked around for the owner.**

**"Down 'ere mate!" Kern looked down tot the side of the tank to see a slim woman with a vox caster, looking up. Long brown hair hanging over her shoulders, her las-rifle slung over her shoulder.**

**"I was told that you're the best chef in the regiment. Veys is it?"She looked up, her blue eyes shining through the grime.**

**"Yes, Kern Veyer, and whoever told you that is lying. But still I can cook. What would you like?" Kern was suddenly feeling a little better, cooking was where he felt at home.**

**"Anything mate. Be creative, the same guy told me you liked to do that."**

**"Ha, well I'll try, come back in half an hour or so, I'll dig up something." Kern smiled wearily and grabbed a bag of things from inside the hatch and jumped down.**

**"Thanks a lot mate, much appreciated." The woman smiled again, her white teeth showing through a wide grin.**

**"My pleasure, what did you say your name was again?"**

**"Didn't, its Breeg. Emilia Breeg." She shook his hand and walked off again, leaving Kern stunned and wondering if there was a higher power out there, why did it have a ironic sense of humor?**

**The air was dense and heavy in the command room. A ruined chapel near the center of Reinhoven. It had been fitted out with high gain vox-caster sets, and there were maps and tables everywhere. A few officers milled around sipping caffeine and pushing little blocks around the biggest of the maps, conversing about something Zorena couldn't make out. Smoke hung in the air; the iho-stick and cigar stubs lay smoldering in mugs and on plates were officers had left them. Zorena sat back in the pew she sat on. you repeat yourself here! It had been pushed to the wall. **

**The chapel had once been a lavish and holy place. Now it was a ruined shell, the stained glass windows shattered and broken, the altar desecrated where the orks had used it as a kitchen and one wall was crumbling were a shell had hit it during the First's push into Reinhoven. It was all silent except for the dull chatter of the officers and the sporadic cheers from a football game outside. **

**The large wooden doors swung open, another shower of splinters cascading off of them onto the floor. The general walked in carrying a box under his arm and a satchel over the opposite shoulder. He walked over to a group of officers and threw the satchel to Lieutenant Brays, an older man with a thick moustache and an augmentic eye, he caught it neatly and threw a salute, shouting some thanks to the general who replied. But Zorena wasn't listening. As the General approached Zorena stood and threw a salute.**

**"Sir, I…" She made to explain her actions fully.**

**"Save it, Major." He placed the box down at his feet and ran his fingers through his hair, as if trying to think what to say next.**

**"Permission to speak sir."**

**"Granted…" He sighed placing his cap back onto his head.**

**"What I did back there. I've been under a lot of stress. This is our home, surely I'm not the only one, and I did have a reason, but I am over it now. I can do my duty Sir." She spoke hurriedly and in a slight panic, as if waiting for a commissar to appear around the corner at any moment. **

**"I know Major. I know... everyone is feeling the same strain, and I know why you disobeyed the order."**

**"Sir?"**

**"Inhumanity…? Cold blooded murder…? I felt the same way." He spoke with a small smile, but his eyes told a different story.**

**"But you gave to order to execute them sir. I don't know what you mean." She looked very puzzled, trying to work this out.**

**He sighed again. " Before I called for your team... I had sent in medic teams, that's why the medical chimera's were parked outside. I wanted to try and send them all back. "**

**"Sir?" She still posed it as a question, even though she knew the answers now.**

**"I wanted to send them back to there own kind, even though that Captain was pushing me to kill them all from the start. But he's seen a lot, he wants revenge, I had to think clearly about it. As I say, the stress it getting to everyone." He smiled feebly, indicating himself, and sitting down opposite Zorena, pulling up a stool.**

**"Sir...I didn't know...forgive me."**

**"Nothing to forgive, its pretty bad out there. Everyone knows that. Anyway, Seven medics and nine corpsmen went in and only twelve came back out. A medic and two corpsmen dead, and four corpsmen wounded." He put his head in his hands, trying to calm himself down, obviously blaming himself for every man who had died under his command over the years.**

**"Oh God Emperor…" Zorena trailed off as the reality of how stupid she had been started to set in, and how what she was standing up for was seeming less and less inviting as the moments passed.**

**"We did manage to send the walking wounded back, but only at gunpoint. They are beasts Zorena, its instinct to kill, even more since they were scared and confused."**

**"I must apologize Sir, my failings are unacceptable. I did not consider all of the facts." She hung her head, really starting to panic**

**"Calm down Major, I'm not a commissar, and I'm not going to punish you for this, even though I should. It was understandable, and I hate myself for having to do it." He looked so very distant, not at all like the man everyone in the regiment had known for twelve years. **

**He spoke again quietly "I was informed by the medics who came out alive that the ones who were bed ridden wouldn't last the next few hours. It was a mercy killing, and I know that is just as bad. But it was a necessary evil. So there's no need to tell me."**

**"I wasn't planning to sir, I know the position your in. I let my emotions get in the way of the job. It won't happen again Sir." Zorena stood again, back straight, eyes front, ready for orders. Fighting back her emotions as she had done for so many years.**

**"Don't start that Major, incase you haven't noticed this isn't the legions of the mighty Astares." He spoke with more humor and a genuine smile, the sentence full of sarcasm. He stood too and saluted and she returned the gesture. "We're moving into Nikell tomorrow morning, big industry sector. A lot of dug in resistance. I need you ready to lead your squadron again. Can I count on you Major Adara?"**

**"Sir yes Sir." She spoke, her face returning to its former expression, grim but with a soft smile. **

**"Good, We move tomorrow…" Robart was cut off as Atos sprinted into the chapel, brandishing a piece of paper, waving it above his head shouting. Looking as if he had found the last bottle of whesk. **

**"Sir! Reinforcements! Reinforcements are coming!"**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Road nine-zero-Gamma, East**

**80 kilometers from Artima Major**

**1057 hours standard**

**The line grumbled down the blast marked track, four hundred and thirty five able fighting vehicles, seventy support chimera's following behind. Travelling four abreast down the highway, two on each side of the crash barrier. The exhaust fumes from the convoy belched up into the already scorched morning sky as undying fires raged along the roadside, bodies laying among the battered wrecks of vehicles. The line rolled through the wasteland as crews and resistance fighters chatted trying to blot out the hell around them.**

**At the lead, the Heart growled along the track way, dust spraying up in its wake. Robart looked down the road with his magoculars, He let them go and swing around his neck as the tank bumped over debris. The vox caster was squawking below. Atos was playing regicide over the vox again. Iros was asleep, his chronic snoring shaking the hull of the Heart. Mikal sat below cleaning and ornate and elegant rapier and reassembling a revolver. Kenny and Ersia were in the front talking. Emperor knows about what, and over the general noise of an armour column, Robart could hear McTavish playing his bagpipes again. He let the magoculars swing on the leather strap and turned to the resistance captain who was sitting on the side of the turret.**

**"What intel do you have on Nikell?" Robart spoke to the young captain, having to raise his voice over the din of an armour advance.**

**"Not much, dug in resistance all around. Static defence platforms, possibly an airfield. We'll know more when the team returns." Toma spoke calmly, loading his plasma rifle.**

**"What team? Couldn't you have told me?" Robart spoke as if scolding him, the resistance captain didn't tell him anything. **

**"That team there." He pointed to a small group of men by the side of the road; the largest of them holding a cardboard sign inscribed 'hell or bust'. "Can we stop to pick them up?"**

**"Yes, we need the information." Robart paused, "that man with the sign looks familiar who is he?" Robart stroked his chin, leaning on the rim of the hatch.**

**"That would be Corporal Greyer, General" Toma spoke matter-of-factly. Robart sat back in his command chair and shouted down to Adior below.**

**"Bring the line to a stop if you please Adior, picking up some hitch hikers."**

**Iros leapt from the side hatch and instantly grinned broadly, as did the other large man with the cardboard sign. The walked over to each other heavily and embraced each other in a very manly hug.**

**"Iros, it's been far to long, never thought I'd see you again mate." The larger man punch Iros in the arm playfully.**

**"It has Steelios, far to long. How have you been?" Iros looked happier than anyone had seen him, finding his brother alive meant a lot to him.**

**"I've been good, apart from the terrible traffic now-a-days, it's just peachy mate." The pair laughed loudly, a deafening sound to behold.**

**"Didn't think you'd last this long. Big target and all." Iros laughed again as Steelios gestured to the waiting tank. "Ok Ok, point taken. We need to move again, come on in."**

**"Good idea, we need to catch up." Steelios followed his younger brother onto the tank, his long black hair tied back away from his massive cheekbones and facial features.**

**"Steelios?" Toma was standing on the trackguard of the Heart, looking down at the huge man.**

**"Sorry sir, forgot, family reunion and all" He laughed again and handed a note pad up to the Captain. "Everything's on there, positions, numbers, weapons."**

**"Thank you Corporal" Toma went over to the turret to converse with the general and read over the intel.**

**Iros spoke again from inside the tank "I gotta let you meet out resident brewer, makes best drink in the regiment..."**

**"Right, we agreed now? I move my men in over the bridge at oh seven hundred, on the blue smoke you move in from these three points." Toma pointed to three red crosses on the map with a gloved finger.**

**"No, I told you the last time, they will get mown down. Even you should know you don't run at a machine gun nest." Robart pointed out two black dots on the map.**

**"We get them with the tubes before we even set foot on the bridge." Toma pointed down to some men holding rocket tubes on the tank behind, his voice becoming more and more annoyed by the second.**

**"You won't even get that far! Have you noticed the eighty-eights on the bank? Even with the armour you wouldn't get close." Robart was getting annoyed with the young captain. So sure of himself.**

**"The gunners won't even see us, we know what we're doing General." Toma rolled up the map and slid it back into its tube.**

**"You have no idea what you're facing here, sure you've raided passing trucks and knocked off the odd ork. But they know that we're coming, they will be ready for us." Robart thumped the steel of the tanks hull trying to emphasise a point as the young captain jumped down and began to walk away.**

**"They expect tanks...General...you wait here in your rust bucket until you see the smoke, we might need help to clean up." He stormed off joining the rest of his men who were getting ready to move.**

**"What did you say about my tank?" An outraged Kenny jumped from the drivers hatch, demanding an explanation for the rust bucket comment.**

**"Leave it Kenny. He'll find out what war is soon enough." Robart sat down in the Heart again "Be ready for a counter push. He can't hold a line, too cocky."**

**"I'm the prime example that cocky works Sir." Kenny spoke as Ersia held his hand, calming him down.**

**"Yes... yes you do have a point. Still, you're very skilled. That boy is inexperienced, but still. We'll see I suppose." Robarts voice sounded as if he was secretly willing the young captain to do it and prove him wrong.**

**"Adoir, get everyone into position, we wait for the blue smoke."**

**"Sir."**

**The light was fading; the moon was high in the sky, the one hundred or so resistance fighters waited at either side of the road in the ditches. Captain Toma Le Cardinale was conferring with some officers and finalising the plans. The bridge lay just ahead; underlit by the moonlight on the water it looked as if it would turn to smoke when touched. (love the imagery here!)The other side of the bridge was shrouded in fog. It wasn't the best night to move over the bridge. But they had to move now. **

**"Any bright ideas lads? We can't hit the MG nests from here. Fog bank. They may have moved in more armour during the day, and those bloody stab lights are getting on my nerves. We can't go over across the bridge." Toma was seething , at his own arrogance for thinking it would be easy, but more so that the bloody general had been right.**

**"We could swim it, not that far across" A stout man with a vertical scar covering his right eye spoke, adjusting a backpack.**

**"Are you serious? If we do that then you're carrying all of the kit." Toma spoke with disdain, not that he had a venomous way of talking normally. It was simply the situation. The man shrunk away, finding the flaw in his plan.**

**A woman spoke this time; she was quite large set and was carrying a combat shotgun with a bandoleer around her torso. "We could go under the bridge, monkey across the support bars under the thing."**

**Toma thought about it for a few moments. "It will be hard, only choice we got though. Any objections?" No one spoke.**

**"Ok then, get everyone rounded up, move over in teams of ten, remember to keep silent. When you get to the other side wait in cover. Don't get seen and no one fire for emperors sake. All right, let's do this. The emperor protects." Toma moved down the road towards the bridge. He would not be beaten by that general.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Nikell - Victory Bridge, East**

**65 kilometers from Artima Major**

**2236 Hours Standard**

**The orks were not inconspicuous, the bank was littered with bodies and bits of broken wood and metal. The powerful stablights were covering the bridge. Orks were walking back and fourth over it. The last of the troopers were climbing over the river now, The underside of the bridge had proven an excellent way to cross. Mikal De Hellier was crouched inside the wreck of a PDF Transport. The side had been ripped out by some sort of circular saw. The blade was embedded in the festering corpse of the driver.**

**He had acquired a spare slug firing sniper rifle from the resistance, having had joined this mission to scope out the area, finding good firing positions for the tanks, the best cover. But really it was just a chance to get back out on foot. He had joined the armored regiment at the founding twelve years previously because he couldn't continue as a sniper. He was originally in the PDF as were quite a lot of these resistance fighters, but he had been shot in the hip during a live fire exercise. He had never fully recovered since he had been in his late thirties at the time. Mikal had joined the tank core shortly after and became renowned for his skill with the vanquisher cannon.**

**His loyalties had always lay with the art of marksmanship, the stillness of a marksman during a firefight, the precision of the single round, and the serenity of a well-chosen firing position. It appealed to him immensely, even after so many years. Mikal panned the scope left and right, scanning the top of the bank, as were another two snipers with him. **

**Mikal had concealed the barrel of the slender weapon beneath a bent armor plate and some grass. The other two had apparently jabbed their weapons through some bullet holes and were swinging them back and fourth like clubs. **

**"If I may inquire, what are you boys doing there?" Mikal asked politely, tucking his cloth cap under his left epaulette**

**"Fighting a war mate, if you haven't noticed." The closest sniggered as he answered the veteran warrior.**

**"I mean the way you are ... shall we say ... waving your guns in the air like a pair of over active scholam boys." De Hellier replied calmly, and returned to his scope slowly, ignoring the fuming pair of teenagers beside him.**

**"We've been out of school for a long time " The other boy replied after a lengthy pause. "Stuck up prat, this is how we fight in the resistance." The young boy immediately took up his rifle and fired within a few seconds. The superheated round went wide and exploded a tin can sitting on a wall beside a large, dark green ork. It instantly looked round, its huge weapon drawn, its segmented armor clanking as it lumbered forward. **

**The beast let loose with a burst of fire from its weapon. The teen that had fired the shot was thrown back to the opposite wall of the vehicle as three explosives round smashed into his torso. His limp body lay there, crimson liquid spilling out into the river.**

**Mikal took a few moments to slow his heart rate and take aim, as the second teen was panicking, backing away from his friends dead body. Through the green hue of the scope, Mikal could see the face of the beast, see the scars on its mottled skin. It opened its mouth wide, dozens of razor sharp teeth were exposed to the night air. It was undoubtedly calling for help. De Hellier took careful aim, picked his moment where there was the maximum background noise and squeezed the trigger.**

**The ork went stiff, thick black liquid covered its uniform. It wavered, toppled and slid down the bank into the river, all the way Mikal had planned it too. He hadn't lost his touch.**

**Everyone had made it up to the lip of the embankment, with the exception of one man stupid enough to fire upon a sentry and miss. Only the quick reactions of the tanker had saved them from being mown down on the bank. Right now they were all waiting for the order to move. Already they had picked off a few guards with knives and dumped the bodies in the river. Toma spoke quietly into his microbead, talking to everyone in the unit.**

**"Nicklson, Harriot take your tube down to the left flank. McCrindle, Davidson, move to the left. Cover the center. Everyone with a rifle sustain fire down the slope." Toma gave out the orders to the waiting troopers as the orks milled around meters away, unaware.**

**"Moving sir." The reply came back from one of the rocket teams.**

**"Setting up Sir." The other team replied after a short while.**

**"On my mark, we move. Fire teams seven and eighteen stay back and cover the heavy platforms. First platoon get into the habs on the right. Third, get down in the church yard and bring the grenade launchers into range of the AT guns." Toma spoke again, issuing more orders for the attack.**

**"Sir, will do." More voices replied**

**"Got it sir."**

**"Ready to go, Sir"**

**"My platoon, fix bayonets. We're gunna show these damn orks what Artimans are made of. We need to open up this route for the armor. We will reclaim our homeland!" Toma had always been good at a rousing speech, today was no exception. His men would follow him to hell and back. They were loyal, they were determined. Toma prayed to the God emperor that they were enough.**

**"Three...two...one...Mark!" At the final word he rose to his feet his plasma rifle blazing. The rest of the company rose with him, a red grid work of shots lancing across the square. **

**"Artima lives!" Captain Toma Le Cardinale thrust his rifle into the air and began to storm down the hill, the rest of the resistance ran with him as grenades and rockets flew over there heads into the bemused ork warband.**

**Mikal was prone on the bridge, picking off any ork who was carrying a large weapon or who looked important. Orks fell to his headshots, one after the other, every six seconds another was felled. **

**It reminded him of training. Back when he was merely a teenager. Orphaned, forced to join up, and pushed into specializing because he was 'gifted'. Killing was no gift. But still, it was the only way in this world. His mentor had taught him everything, sniping, chivalry, honor, it was a way of life now.**

**This captain seemed to be quite a well-trained man, honorable in his own way, and in all his years of service, Mikal had never seen someone so liked by the men. Except of course General Le Cardinale.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Nikel - Victory Bridge, East**

**65 kilometeres from Artima Major**

**0000 hours standard**

**A long tongue of flame engulfed a watchtower on the right side of the street, and a few orks were consumed with it. Their screams could be heard over the sustained gunfire from the imperial troops. More orks fell as they ran from their places of rest, half dressed, confused and terrified. Another rocket screeched in overhead and struck the base of a siege mortar. The explosion desolated a nearby building and it collapsed onto the orks left flank. **

**"First squad! Close quarters! May the emperor guide your blows!" Toma roared over the raging battle as the orks began to retaliate. A machine gun opened up, stitching the ground with solid rounds. A man at his side fell clutching his stomach.**

**"Kadisky! Take out that nest!" Toma shouted over the microbead, pointing with one hand and firing with the other.**

**"Consider it done sir!" The reply came over the link distorted and the battle echoed through the microbead. Almost immediately after, Toma caught sight of a small black shape in the corner of his eye. It landed behind the wall were the machine gun was firing from. It ceased abruptly. Chunks of wall and ork body were showered over the street as the grenade went off.**

**"Keep moving! We can win this!" The captain's words were lost in the sudden roar; the ork counter attack was upon them. Over a dozen massive veterans had vaulted the barriers beyond and were sprinting towards them with axes, bits of metal pipe and anything that could cause damage in a brawl.**

**"All units advance! May the emperor protect you all!" The words rang over the comms links like a carrion call, and instilled confidence in everyone. They ran into the fray.**

**Emilia swung the butt of her rifle and it smashed into the temple of the first ork to jump the wall. It stammered and fell, only to be lanced by the next two men beside her. The next beast was met with a boot in the shin, and as it dropped to one knee it was shot through the head and slashed across the chest by Lance-Corporal Vostok to her right. More orks were piling over the wall of the churchyard. **

**As the next ork came her way, a simple four-letter word was running through her mind. It was big, really big, dark green and carrying dual hooked battle axes. Emilia raised her gun up, bracing it between her hands and stopped the falling axes with it. Emilia grunted against the pain of holding the ork at bay and it roared, pushing harder and digging the hooks into the metal work of the gun. **

**She was down on one knee now as the beast tried to crush the small woman beneath the gun. The diamond edged blades a hairs breadth from her face now, a smile appeared on its face as it declared its own triumph. It was short lived. A sniper round ripped through its neck and burst the artery. It collapsed silently and the fight raged on around it. Emilia could just make out the vox operator screaming over the link to the captain.**

**"We're holding against heavy assault here sir. We need support, any longer and we'll be overrun." The comms man ducked as a shot ricocheted off of a nearby headstone. There was a short pause, probably waiting for a reply.**

**"Yes Sir! We'll hold as long as we can!" The comms man replaced the handset and opened fire from behind a gravestone.**

**Emilia thumped another ork round the head with the butt of her gun and kicked the next to the ground as her squad mates finished them off with blade and bullet. It was going to be a long night.**

**Mikal was running, sprinting through the hail of bullets coming from the ork positions. He jumped over a fallen trooper as he approached the tip of the battle. The noise was becoming deafening, the metallic clash of blades, the heavy thumping of automatic weapons, the rush of rockets and the roaring of battling warriors. Mikal drew his long, slender rapier from its scabbard on his hip and plucked his ancient pistol from its holster, the rifle slung over his back. **

**The weight of the pristine blade in his hand reminded him once more of his training days. Right here on Artima, his tutor had taught him how to fight with a whole range of weapons, from daggers to chain-swords. But the rapier had always been his preferred choice, light, rapid, lethal, beautiful. **

**He could remember the man now, his tutor. He had been a tall robust man and even back then he had been in his fifties. The thick moustache and curly fringe that covered a dueling scar. The cold empty eyes. Mikal could make out the great hall of the training school now. The high vaulted ceiling adorned with large chandeliers, and the wooden paneled walls. Large floor to ceiling windows let the light into the space.**

**Mikal was standing in full fencing armor, the fine mesh helmet covering his face. His rapier still in his hand, his tutor standing before him, wearing his full-length leather coat. **

**"Assume your stance, Mikal." His master spoke to him with his calm, haunting tone.**

**"Yes Master," Mikal replied, his voice younger and childlike. But it still had the same cold tone. His tutor took a quick step to the side and lunged at Mikal, taking him totally by surprise and placing the tip of his training sword on Mikals mesh helmet.**

**"You are dead Mikal. Try again. You are my finest student, I know you can do this with ease." His tutor's voice almost sounded friendly with the compliment. Mikal took his stance again and as the Tutor made his move, Mikal caught his superiors blade, and with a simple flick of the wrist it skidded across the floor. Feeling triumphant, Mikal began to return to his position, but no sooner had he lowered his blade than the older man kicked the feet from under him, and had his reclaimed blade pointed to his chest.**

**"You must learn Mikal, on a battlefield, there is no such thing as honor or chivalry. War is ruthless and unforgiving. Never give the enemy a chance to survive. Now, we begin again." **

**A sudden explosion reclaimed De Hellier from his memory. The battle was still raging as more orks piled in from all angles. He raised his slender rapier and ran into the battle. Silently.**

**It was getting more brutal by the second, the green tide didn't seem to stop. More orks were flooding through the streets to the imperial line. The only way they weren't dead yet was that the side streets were covered by the heavy weapon teams on the bank that stopped the orks attempting to flank them, and only so many orks could fight at one time because of the confines of the city street. The resistance fighters kept cutting them down, wave after wave of orks was felled by imperial steel. **

**"Where the hell are the flame-throwers?" Toma screamed over the microbead, knowing that that was the only way to push by the horde.**

**"Pinned down in the church Sir, I think they said there was a tank coming through the wall." The distorted voice replied over the comms link. Even so the captain was sure it was sergeant Fury over in the Habs.**

**"Any chance you have any bright ideas?" Toma bellowed over the link, plunging his bayonet into another rancid ork.**

**"Sorry Sir, fresh out, bit hard to concentrate." The sergeant sounded almost comical, he had always passed the most horrendous situations off as simple. Toma had dropped his focus for a second and already he was on his back. Three orks bearing down on him with crude hand-to-hand weapons. Toma had no idea were his rifle had gone, it felt like the end. **

**As quick as a bolt of lighting, the thin blade came down and sliced cleanly through the skull of the ork about to deliver the killing blow. Its huge machete fell and dug into the ground beside Toma. The lithe man with the blade landed crouched at the feet of the next two, the handle of his blade to his neck, the blade itself grazing his right ear slightly. With one swift movement the sword was pointing away from the mans back. The pair of brutish orks had been cut diagonally, from the knee of the first to the shoulder of the second. One clean cut through both beasts. Toma lay in shock as the butchered bodies tumbled to the feet of the now standing soldier**

**"Forward!" the single word was spoken with more conviction and strength than any commissar could have ever hoped to achieve with ten thousand words. The ranks of troopers followed the man into the fray, singing the battle hymn of Artima IV. **

**The hordes of orks were parting around the trooper as he strode forward. He drew a large revolver. Toma had no idea how, but he could make out the detail of the weapon, two snakes coiled viciously around the barrel and the revolving chamber was adorned with finely finished wreaths. As the soldier advanced, he fired three rounds into the mass. Two orks fell as their hearts were punctured and there was a massive explosion that could only have been flamer fuel as a flame-thrower tank was ruptured by the third bullet.**

**Toma recognized the man now. It was the tanker who had followed them into the fight. There was enough room now between the orks and imperials for the troopers to set up a firing drill.**

**"Fire teams form up! Quickly!" Toma, getting to his feet, cried over the links and the troops rapidly got into two lines. One standing and one crouched down. They sent volley after volley of las rounds into the retreating ork forces. The tanker stood his ground in the middle of the two, the mans body turned sideways to the orks. His revolver resting in its leather holster and his thin lips twisting into a slight, wolfish smile. That filled the troops of the resistance with more fear than any amount of orks ever could.**

**"Shoot the damn thing, I am not sitting here all night. ... I don't care if you're low on rockets. Your not three feet from a tank are you! Shoot it before I shoot you!" Emilia Breeg slammed the handset of her vox caster down and ducked as more bullets blew chips of marble from the pillar she was cowering behind.**

**"You got a nade Kendrith?" Emilia asked, shouting over the thumping of the machine guns. **

**"Yeah, on three?" The young man replied, wiping blood from his eye and throwing a grenade to Emilia. The wound to his forehead was bleeding badly. **

**"Yeah...Three" Emilia caught the grenade and instantly pulled the pin and rolled it along the floor of the church, as did the man to her left and a few men behind the altar. One sat beside the track, one rolled under the hull and the other two landed on the top of the tank. **

**"Mind yer ears!" A voice bellowed from somewhere in the close vicinity as an ork clambered from the hatch and tried to throw the grenades away. It had one of them in its hand when the timers ran out. The beast was thrown across the room and into a stained glass window. The tracks on the left side of the tank were ripped clean off and there was now a huge hole in the turret. The final grenade must have gone off beneath the magazine. The whole unit was ripped apart by the blast and the roof caved in on top of it.**

**"That went well." Emilia came out from the pillar, already climbing over the rubble. "Lets get into the fight shall we."**

**Third platoon stormed through into the next block of habs beside the church, and further pushed back the retreating, broken ork forces.**

**The resistance forces pushed on into Nikell.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Nikel commercia district - Nikel**

**63 kilometers from Artima Major**

**0435 Hours standard**

**"Move in! Move in! Darnesh, take you squad into the square and pop the smoke!" Toma shouted across to a smaller man who immediately led a group of soldiers after him into the square.**

**"First platoon, cover the left flank. Get into that hotel there." Toma pointed out a once grand hotel. Gilded eagles sat upon the eaves of the doorway and smashed windows gave views inside to the destroyed interior.**

**More men and women scampered around, carrying heavy weapons between them and collecting ammunition from troopers carrying large backpacks.**

**"My lot get into the habs there on the left. Take the first two stories. Fire team two stay out here and get a barricade up across the street." Toma waved some men over who started to throw rubble across the street, building up some cover. The captain crouched, loading a fresh cell into his rifle and looked up to see were Darnesh's squad was. **

**Darnesh himself and two others were pulling smoke charges from there kits. Sergeant Darnesh drew his arm back to hurl the charge into the dry fountain. The charge fell onto the ground at his feet, the pin still in place. Darnesh sank too his knees as the others in his squad tried to drag him back to the barricade.**

**Darnesh was screaming, his arm lay with the charge by the fountain and two others of his squad. Another man fell as he tried to drag the dying sergeant back to safety. Even from the barricade were he was crouched, Toma could see the terror in the men's eyes. The one thing that could make an infantryman turn tail and flee, enemy armor.**

**Toma saw a massive caliber bullet smack Darnesh in the chest. He died instantly. The two troopers left sprinted, one was hit in the thigh and in the shoulder by small arms fire. The other, Toma was sure it was Mckullen, picked his squad mate up and threw him over his shoulders.**

**The man ran back as the imperials returned fire. **

**The pair made it to the barricade. Mckullen went down as volley of bullets smashed into his back and went straight through the flak armor, killing him in seconds. The soldier he had been carrying fell and was dragged over the barricade just as more shots peppered the area.**

**"Medic! I need a medic now!" Toma screamed over the link, trying to stem the bleeding from the man's wounds. **

**"Sir! Armor inbound!" A private shouted from the barricade, loading his rifle with practiced ease.**

**"Everyone get into cover! Focus on the infantry." Toma bellowed over the microbead, handing the wounded man over to the medic whom had arrived.**

**"Give me some numbers guys!"**

**"I can see about two hundred foot sloggers coming in from the right, and a few half tracks are coming with them." Arkon from first platoon in the hotel replied first, gunfire coming clearly over the link.**

**"Got me a tank this end captain. Infantry getting' a lil' bit close now, could do with some heat." The platoon vox man with second replied this time, his thick accent easy to hear over the constant static in the background.**

**"I'll send a flamer over in a bit mate." The captain shouted back, as a tank round smashed into a car down the street. Toma looked over the barricade and saw the armor. A captured AC-30 assault tank sat in the middle of the square beside the fountain. Throwing shells into second platoon. A hail of bright blue tracer fire was pouring from a restaurant on the right, blowing chunks out of the hotel and first platoon.**

**Following the armor came the ork infantry, a lot of them. They were firing from the buildings on the opposite side of the hundred yard square. A large bullet whizzed past Toma's head with a sound like an insect and reminded the captain that he was standing.**

**Toma opened the microbead link to everyone under his command.**

**"Hold line! Give the scum nothing! We will hold this position! Artima lives! The emperor protects!" His words rang out across the imperial line, and were answered by a barrage of acknowledgements and agreements. **

**The Artiman resistance fought on. **

**The three snipers had found themselves a nice fourth floor suite in the Hotel. They had chosen it for its view over the busy town square and its large windows. Also the enemy seemed not to notice them here as they picked off infantry from afar.**

**Mikal De Hellier lay prone on a large balcony beside a young woman and in the next window was Fredor, a young man he had met on Victory Bridge. The young woman had just arrived and had set up beside De Hellier. The trio fired down, joking back and fourth about some of the targets they were picking.**

**"y' should see the face on this 'un!" Fredor shouted over, his eyes not leaving the scope. "I've seen better looking drag acts." the other two sharpshooters laughed a little but continued there work.**

**"I spy with my little eye... there we go, a leader of men." The young woman said softly.**

**"Picking your shot madam?" De Hellier asked politely adjusting his scope, pointing it at the source of the tracer fire.**

**"You betcha, big green thing." She paused for a moment and took her shot, her triumphant whoop told the others she had made a hit.**

**De Hellier paned his view over to where the woman had made her kill, and rolled over onto his back so he was in cover behind a wall.**

**"I think his companion spotted you madam." He still kept his composure even as the battle raged.**

**"Don't be daft m-" the final word of her sentence was never heard, a burst of fire peppered the outer wall of the hotel and a single lucky shot shattered the scope of her rifle and then embedded itself into her skull. Her eye was fused to the rubber eyepiece by the heat of the round.**

**"Holy throne! How did they see her?" Fredor, only a young man, exclaimed, shocked by what had just happened.**

**"Someone is always watching. Take the shot, move on." De Hellier spoke calmly, crawling over to the body and plucking the makeshift dog tags from her neck.**

**"H-Hey your that guy from the bank. You were there when my mate got shot." The young man stammered, obviously not comfortable with combat.**

**"I believe I am. You must be the less than experienced chap who survived." Mikal spoke softly while picking a target in the crowd below.**

**"Umm... yeah, I ain't dead yet mate. How do you shoot like that? I mean… I've never seen someone take a shot like that." The young man sounded unsure of what he was saying as bullets flew in the window and blew plaster from the walls.**

**"The art of warfare is only learned over many years and many theatres. Very few people are born with the skill." De Hellier settled the rifle on its bipod, loaded another round into the weapon and fired into the restaurant on the opposite side of the square. "Unfortunately for the enemy, I am one of the few."**

**"Think you missed that one." The boy replied, looking out of the window with his scope. **

**To the remark Mikal simply held up one finger, and as he did, the restaurant exploded in a large orange fireball. **

**"Just follow me, I'll teach you the art of combat." With those words Mikal gathered his things and sprinted out the door with Fredor close behind, as more bullets smacked into the hotel.**

**Emilia loaded another cell into her rifle; she was starting to run low again. She rested her rifle on the window ledge she was crouched behind and picked off another few orks.**

**"Anyone know what happened to the armor support?" Emilia shouted to anyone who was alive and listening.**

**"Think we gotta pop the smoke!" someone shouted from the far end of the building.**

**"Why can't I see any then?" Emilia shouted back. More shots flew in and blew a vase into dust.**

**"Cause Darnesh has it. He's having tea and scones with the god emperor now." Davidson called as she loaded another rocket into the missile tube her teammate was holding. **

**"He's dead? Why did no one tell me?" Emilia sounded quite annoyed as she ducked down and loaded her rifle again. "Why am I always the last to know, I thought he was upstairs." She kept her head down and ran across the room and out the door in the direction of the barricade.**

**"I need a clip!" Toma shouted down the line as he ducked down behind the sofa that he was using as cover.**

**"Clip chief!" Holworth dropped a clip to Toma as he jogged past, stooping below the barrier heading toward third platoon. As he reached the other side of the street and was about to go into the buildings there he bumped into Emilia as she ran through. Toma seen the look on her face and knew he was about to be very stressed. She slid down beside him.**

**"Darling..." Emilia spoke calmly even though another volley of bullets had smacked into the sofa. **

**"No, whatever it is no!" Toma replied, trying his best to convince himself that he was the captain.**

**"I was only going to ask you to hold this for me." Emilia stuck her tongue out and smiled, handing him her vox caster as more bullets buzzed around.**

**"Why? What's your plan this time?" Toma looked puzzled as he placed the caster down beside him and took another few shots over the top of the sofa as Emilia laid things in a pile at her side.**

**"Plan? What plan? You don't think I would disobey your orders do you?" She spoke innocently like a small child beside an empty biscuit barrel with its face smeared with chocolate. **

**"I know how you think Emilia, you do it every time. Every time you know I'll say no, you find a way to change my mind. Not this time." Again Toma was trying to tell himself who was in control.**

**"Oltir, can you get your squad to set up a cross fire with Weskers lot?" Emilia called over to a man who was loading his rifle.**

**"Are you even listening Emilia?" Toma asked, ducking as a bullet struck the casters on the sofa making them spin wildly.**

**"Yes honey. Frey, get the snipers with third to give covering fire on the captains mark. Thanks."**

**It dawned on him what she was planning to do. Emilia was planning to jump the barrier and go out into the square. Toma instantly began to panic. He knew now who was in control; he had always known it. Emilia was the captain. **


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Nikel commercia district - Nikel**

**62 kilometers from Artima Major**

**0654 Hours standard**

**Emilia swung her legs over the car she had been crouched behinde and began to sprint across the square as bullets whizzed past her. Toma could only stare in horror as his sweetheart rushed to her death. Although the orks didn't seem to be aiming at her, they were probably in as much shock as Toma. She sprinted across the large open square and vaulted a few obsticales before sliding down behinde an abandoned piano.**

**"Cover...Cover her! Covering fire! Now! Covering fire!" Toma blurted out as his senses returned and he remebered for the second time he was standing. **

**"Incoming! get in some cover!" Winters roared over the com link and everyone began to dash forthe buildings. Except toma who could only stand and stare as his view of Emilia was engulfed by flame and debris as the artillery shells began to fall. Winters and another man dragged him into cover as the barrier was obliterated.**

**Someone was screaming for a medic and there was a large hole in the ceiling were a shell had came down from the third floor, a few bodies were scattered in the smoking crater that was in the shop now.**

**"That artillery's got us zero'd cap!" Winters shouted over the din of the barrage.**

**"Be sure to remind me when I get shot will you Winters!" Toma replied, holding his head in his hands as bullets smacked into the wall behinde him. He was confused, shaken by what had happened, Emilia was gone, his mind refused to accept the fact. She had always been there... always.**

**The barrage slackened and stopped finaly, and the micro bead link crackled into life, a small tiny voice shouted in Toma's ear and battle sounds echoed in the micro bead.**

**"Infantry charge Cap! Orders?" The small voice stopped and gave way to some light static as more bullets flew through the window and a medic rushed past. Toma didn't reply, he was lost in his thoughs.**

**"Orders Sir! Orders!" More voices were shouting now, becoming more desperate.**

**"Cap! Snap out of it!" Winters was suddenly beside Toma, shaking him out of his trance. **

**"What?, oh damn...Lets move...get everyone together!" Toma jumped to his feet and barked orders through the com link running towards the front window.**

**"All squads, fix beyonets. Move into the craters! Defensive line! Move it out!"**

**"Sir?" Winters asked, the captain, looking very confused by the rash order.**

**"We are going to defend this postion Winters. Do you have a problem?" Toma spoke sternly, his eyes wide and slightly glazed. He held his gun as if about to shoot Winters if he disagreed.**

**"No sir." The man replied quietly as the orks approached faster and faster.**

**"Company! Move out!" Toma roared over the com link braceing his foot against the shop window sill and loading his rifle, about to run.**

**"Artima lives!"**

**Every one chorused a reply and sprinted from cover, firing into the ork horde advancing towrds them, they ran through the cover of the craters. Many orks fell, and there bretheren had to scramble over the mounting bodies as the resistance took up postions in the craters.**

**Toma reached the fountain in the middle of the square and dived in with a few other troopers and chips of rockrete were blown from the monument and showered down on them.**

**"Anyone find that smoke?" Toma cried out as he landed in the dry fountain.**

**"Yeh, this it?" A soot blackened trooper threw a small canister to Toma.**

**"Yup, thats it. Good job mate." The captain grabbed the canister, yanked the pin free and shifted his weight to throw it into the open. **

**The shot came to the surprise of everyone in the fountain. The captain was thrown over onto his face as the bullet struck him in the neck, tearing the skin and spraying arterial blood over the wall. Another trooper crawled over and tried to stem the bleeding. The battle raged on regardless.**

**"Stay with me cheif! talk to me!" The trooper was shouting but Toma couldn't focus, he didn't know who it was, or precisly what they were shouting. He closed his eyes, he felt tired.**

*********

**Toma opened his eyes, he stared as a colum of tanks rumbled past, freshly painted. Flags flying proudly and insignia's gleaming in the sunlight. Comanders in clean uniforms sitting atop there mount. They were all parked in rows in the square waiting to depart. Officals were waving squadrons through to the airfields with hand lamps.**

**He looked around, his father and mother were together. His mother looked very upset. He noticed there were alot of people doing the same thing. They seemed to be saying goodbye. He toddled over to his mother and looked up at her, holding onto her hand.**

**"You know I'll keep in contact whatever way I can Zoie. The crusade will be over by the end of the year, the rebels are just rebels." His father was talking to his mother.**

**"Thats what they said about Detrius, they said that twenty years ago. They are still fighting." His mother wiped a tear from her eye.**

**"It will be ok darling, they are sending the first and second crusade armies and the third is being formed."His father held her in his large arms and she smiled weakly.**

**"Is that supposed to make me feel better, I'm worried about you. A tank is a big target." She looked up into his fathers eyes looking for anything that may console her.**

**"It will be fine my love, Zertain is a good General. He'll get us through it." He held her close to him and kissed her cheek.**

**"If he dosn't I'm coming to get him." She laughed feebly as her eyes welled up and she threw herself into her husbands arms. Toma watched as his mother cried and his father comforted her. After a long time, his father kneeled down infront of Toma, and spoke softly to him ruffling his hair gently.**

**"Now, I'm depending on you to keep your mother safe Toma. I'll come back as soon as I can, and I might even get you a souvenir. How does that sound?" He spoke calmly to his son as he always did.**

**Toma nodded and hugged him tightly "Why can't you stay here dad, I liked it when you came home. " Toma spoke, trying to keep the floods of tears under control. His father unclipped his cap badge from his cloth cap and pinned it to the front of Tomas tunic, the little heart and daggers gleamed when the sun struck the well polished metal and it made Toma feel a little better.**

**"I must go now son, but I'll be back soon. Goodbye Toma" His father stood again and toma wrapped his arms around his mothers leg. trying not to cry. His father said his final goodbyes, looking as sad as his mother was as he climbed up onto his tank and sat in the turret.**

**He waved to them as the colum rumbled down the road towards the airfield. Toma ran and stood on a wall beside the road with Emilia Breeg from across the street, and Nikoli Winters from the scholam. All along the road were weeping mothers, fathers, parents and children.**

**Toma sat down beside Emilia who was weeping openly, and He had never seen Emilia cry before. Come to think of it, he had never realy cried much himself. But everyone was in tears, He cuddled Emilia and stayed with her till the last of the Artiman First Armoured had left.**

*********

**Major Kern Veyer sat in the turret of the Xenos, ploting a route into Nikel on a laminated chart. Everything was bathed in the red lights of the cabin, then the vox caster began to squawk and kern reached down for the handset. The crew looked up to him, waiting for the orders. Kern said a few quiet words of aknowlagment and an oathe to the God emperor then replaced the handset. He looked down to his crew, and with a small but confident smile said,**

**"Were going in first boys. Get ready for glory." Although rather surprised by there new majors confidence the crew cheered as did all of the crews in waiting to attack. The First were one step closer to liberation.**

*********

**The sounded returned violently, rushing into his head like a wave. His vision cleared. There was the distinct crumpof munitions as a shell landed a few meteres away, showering him with dirt. **

**"Get back! Get out of it!" Winters was roaring into a vox set, more sots were coming over the lip of the fountain.**

**"Winters! Whats happening?" Toma cried out, feeling the sharp pain in his neck as he spoke.**

**"Cap, thought you'd bought it for a minute there. Were pinned down and I just sent third back." Winters shouted over to the captain and another man fell back screaming, his face peppered with shrapnel.**

**"There's a tank over there we can't stop. Tubes are dry and the only team with ammo is holding off armoured orks with first platoon."**

**"Damn, what happened to the smoke?" Toma spoke again, becomiing angrey with himself for being so stupid.**

**"Poped the smoke a while ago. No idea were the armour is, can't get them on the vox." Winters picked up his rifle again and started fireing over the rockrete lip of the fountain.**

**Toma grabbed a rifle from the bottom of the fountain and scooped up the vox caster beside Winters.**

**"Come on mate, get everyone back...can third hold the right flank?" **

**"What right flank? Theres two tank sitting were the rear guard should be." Winters slid down behinde cover and crawled over to Toma and pointed out the pair of tanks, that were hammering third platoon. **

**The closest tank, began to swivel its turret toward the fountain. It belched thick exhaust fumes as it moved and some crude metal teeth welded onto the hull of the machine made it seem as if it was laughing at the resistance.**

**"Move it!" Toma threw winters over the side of the fountain and dived over the side with another man before a shell blew the monument into debris.**

**"Everyone get back! Get to the fallback postion!" Toma shouted into the vox caster's handset, sprinting with Winters and a few others as bullets whipped around them.**

**"Where's our bloody armour support?" A trooper shouted to Toma's left.**

**"No idea mate. Keep runnin'!" Toma replied trowing a grenade back as the orks stormed over the remains of the fountain. Dirt and body parts were launched into the air when it went off.**

**The resistance reached the buildings that they had been in before the charge, the orks on there heels. Toma scrambled behinde a burnd out car and began fireing.**

**"Winters!" **

**"Here cap!" Winters dived over the bonnet of the car as bullets smacked off the metal, leaving smoking dents.**

**"Were the hell is everyone?" Toma let of a burst of shots and felled a huge ork carrying a sledge hammer.**

**"Third is down there!" He sat down behinde the car and pointed to the right.**

**"First and some of our lot are back in the hotel and do you see that tank over there to the left." Winters pointed again indicating a large red painted tank**

**"Yeh, I see it. What about it?" Toma lined up his sights again and took out another ork. They kept running regardless of casualties.**

**"McCrindle and Davidson are under it." **

**"What the hell!?" Toma exclaimed, not beliveing what Winters was saying. **

**Before he could ask anymore about what the man had said, two troopers crawled out from under the tank. One had a rocket tube strapped to his back. The other was running beside him, laughing manicly with her teammate. When the pair got away from the armour the woman turned and fired a few shots at it with a pistol. **

**The tank lept into the air and landed on its back, a gaping hole in its under belly. The pair ran back to the line without being shot and the tank lay on the battle field, smouldering as more orks climbed over it as the green tide approached.**

**"I'll never understand those two, never. But they get the job done." WInters remarked as he stood and fired into the horde.**

**"Its only one tank down, there's another one over there and we can't take it down." Toma shouted back raming his last clip into his rifle.**

**"We need support, we're gona be over run in a few minutes!"Toma excalimed. Winters by his side was thrown off his feet and into a pile of broken bricks a couple of metres down the street. The car was thrown into the building beside them and Toma was picked up and dropped into a crater.**

**Toma crawled up to the lip of the crater and seen some troopers at a near by door way, fireing up the street. He seen the first two of them run further down the road and the other three were killed when the doorway exploded in a gout of flame. He turned and cried out at what he saw. **

**The orks were swarming over the end of the street. A large squat tank sat in the middle of the street, machine guns rattling and its main gun coughing up flame with each shot. It was the tank from the fountain, the crude teeth still clutched onto the hull, blackened and bent it now looked as if it was sneering. Bright headlamps giving the effect of burning eyes. It truley looked like a beast of the warp as its fellow orks scrambled over it.**

**Toma stood, his eyes unable to focus, his body aching and his thoughts dulled. He drew his pistol and went down on one knee, firing at the beast. It turned to face the small man, acrid fumes belowing from its exhaust funnels. The minute las round merly scorching the thick armour of the beast. The infantry ran towards him en masse. The beast redied itself to destroy the fragile human, there was a massive thud, a deafening roar and a blinding flash of flame. **

**The metalic monster sat in the middle of the road, smoke billowing from the gash in the tanks front armour. Toma whirled round and seen the proud Leman Russ battle tank in the middle of the road, grey smoke exiting the long barrel. A bronze plate on its turret indicated its name "Highlander" and atop the turret stood a tall, powerful man with long hair and a thick beard. He carried a set of ancient Artiman bagpipes and as the highlander and other tanks rolled up the road, he played strong and true.**

**Toma stood to one side and stared up at the colum of tanks, battle worn and dirty, commanders sitting in the turrets giving orders. They entered the square and drove the retreating hordes of orks out of Nikel. The Artiman first armoured had returned.**

*********

**"Miss me?" the voice rang out around the cathedral.**

**"Emilia?" Toma turned and his face lit up, seeing his sweetheart back and alive**

**"It ain't the Emperor" She smiled and walked over to him, arms outstretched.**

**"Sorry i scared you, had myself an idea. Couldn't find the damn smoke thing. So I went round the back and made a nice roadblock out of a library" She smiled and embraced him fiercly.**

**"Why did you do that?" Toma spoke, having the breath squeezed out of him.**

**"Well, I knew you would win and the orks would run away. If theres a big road block theres nowere to run to. It worked well. No survivours we know of." She went quiet, trying to change the subject.**

**"Umm, nice place you got here, find anything intresting when you came in?" **

**"Yeh, when we were bringing in the wounded we found a guy in the corner. Right mess, alot of parts have been replaced with augments, they must have tortured him. Terrible state, says his name's Eric."**


End file.
